Playback Queue Control by a Mobile Device

ABSTRACT

A first connection state may be entered on a computing device. While the computing device is in the first connection state, actions taken on a playlist on the computing device may be applied to the playlist and not applied to a playback queue associated with a zone. An input may be received via the computing device, indicating a selection of the zone. In response to receiving the input, a second connection state may be entered. Entering the second connection state may comprise establishing a connected state between the computing device and the one or more playback devices. While the connected state is established, one or more actions taken on the playlist on the computing device may be applied to the playlist and transmitted, in a message to the zone over a network. The one or more actions may be one or more corresponding actions applied to the playback queue.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application claims the benefit of and priority as acontinuation under 35 U.S.C. § 120 to U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/626,793, filed on Jun. 19, 2017, entitled “Playback Queue Control Viaa Playlist on a Computing Device”, which is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 13/904,949, filed on May 29, 2013, entitled“Playback Zone Silent Connect”, the contents of each of which are hereinincorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The disclosure is related to consumer goods and, more particularly, tomethods, systems, products, features, services, and other items directedto media playback or some aspect thereof.

BACKGROUND

Digital music has become readily available due in part to thedevelopment of consumer level technology that has allowed people tolisten to digital music on a personal audio device. The consumer'sincreasing preference for digital audio has also resulted in theintegration of personal audio devices into PDAs, cellular phones, andother mobile devices. The portability of these mobile devices hasenabled people to take the music listening experience with them andoutside of the home. People have become able to consume digital music,like digital music files or even Internet radio, in the home through theuse of their computer or similar devices. Now there are many differentways to consume digital music, in addition to other digital contentincluding digital video and photos, stimulated in many ways byhigh-speed Internet access at home, mobile broadband Internet access,and the consumer's hunger for digital media.

Until recently, options for accessing and listening to digital audio inan out-loud setting were severely limited. In 2005, Sonos offered forsale its first digital audio system that enabled people to, among manyother things, access virtually unlimited sources of audio via one ormore networked connected zone players, dynamically group or ungroup zoneplayers upon command, wirelessly send the audio over a local networkamongst zone players, and play the digital audio out loud in synchrony.The Sonos system can be controlled by software applications downloadedto certain network capable, mobile devices and computers.

Given the insatiable appetite of consumers towards digital media, therecontinues to be a need to develop consumer technology thatrevolutionizes the way people access and consume digital media.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Features, aspects, and advantages of the presently disclosed technologymay be better understood with regard to the following description,appended claims, and accompanying drawings where:

FIG. 1 shows an example configuration in which certain embodiments maybe practiced;

FIG. 2A shows an illustration of an example zone player having abuilt-in amplifier and transducers;

FIG. 2B shows an illustration of an example zone player having abuilt-in amplifier and connected to external speakers;

FIG. 2C shows an illustration of an example zone player connected to anA/V receiver and speakers;

FIG. 3 shows an illustration of an example controller;

FIG. 4 shows an internal functional block diagram of an example zoneplayer;

FIG. 5 shows an internal functional block diagram of an examplecontroller;

FIG. 6 shows an example playback queue configuration for a network mediasystem;

FIG. 7 shows an example ad-hoc playback network;

FIG. 8 shows a system including a plurality of networks including acloud-based network and at least one local playback network;

FIG. 9 shows an example flow diagram for establishing a connected statebetween a mobile device and a zone in a network media system;

FIGS. 10A-10D show a series of example user interfaces for establishinga connected state between a mobile device and a zone in a network mediasystem;

FIG. 11 shows an example flow diagram for providing an example connectedstate indicator;

FIG. 12 shows an example user interface providing an example connectedstate indicator;

FIG. 13 shows an example flow diagram for transitioning control of aplayback queue;

FIGS. 14A-B show a series of example user interfaces for transitioningcontrol of a playback queue;

FIG. 15 shows a first example flow diagram for reconnecting a mobiledevice to a zone in a network media system;

FIG. 16 shows an example user interfaces for a first example ofreconnecting a mobile device to a zone in a network media system;

FIG. 17 shows a second example flow diagram for reconnecting a mobiledevice to a zone in a network media system;

FIGS. 18A-E show a series of example user interface for a second exampleof reconnecting a mobile device to a zone in a network media system;

FIG. 19 shows an example flow diagram for modifying a playback queue ofa zone according to a modification made to a playlist on a previouslyconnected mobile device while the mobile device was not connected to thezone;

FIGS. 20A-B show a series of example user interfaces for modifying aplayback queue of a zone according to a modification made to a playliston a previously connected mobile device while the mobile device was notconnected to the zone;

FIG. 21 shows an example flow diagram for moving a playback queue to adifferent zone;

FIGS. 22A-E show a series of example user interfaces for moving aplayback queue to a different zone;

FIG. 23 shows an example flow diagram for providing a private queueindicator; and

FIGS. 24A-D show a series of example user interfaces providing a privatequeue indicator.

In addition, the drawings are for the purpose of illustrating exampleembodiments, but it is understood that the inventions are not limited tothe arrangements and instrumentality shown in the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION I. Overview

Embodiments described herein may involve a connected state between amobile device and a zone in a network media system and interactionsbetween the mobile device and the network media system involving theconnected state. In one scenario, a user may be listening to music froma playlist on the mobile device while commuting home from work. Once theuser is home and within communicative range of the network media systemat home, the user may choose to “play to” a zone of one or more playbackdevices of the network media system via an interface on the mobiledevice. In embodiments described herein, “playing to” a zone may involveestablishing a connected state between the mobile device and the zone.

The connected state may be established between the mobile device and thezone such that further actions taken on media items identified in theplaylist on the mobile device may also be taken on corresponding mediaitems in a playback queue associated with the zone. For instance,playing a particular song in the playlist via the mobile device maycause a corresponding particular song in the playback queue to also beplayed by the one or more playback devices in the zone. In anotherinstance, removing the particular song from the playlist via the mobiledevice may cause the corresponding particular song to be removed fromthe playback queue associated with the zone. In some cases, establishinga connected state between the mobile device and the zone may involvepopulating the playback queue with media items corresponding to themedia items identified in the playlist of the mobile device that theuser wishes to play to the zone.

In some embodiments, the interface on the mobile device may beconfigured to display a connected state indicator. In one case, theconnected state indicator may indicate that the mobile device is in aconnected state with one or more zones in the network media system. Inone instance, the connected state indicator may further indicate that acorresponding action has been taken on a corresponding media item in theplayback queue as a result of an action taken on a media item identifiedin the playlist on the mobile device. In another case, a differentindicator may be displayed to indicate that the mobile device is notcurrently in a connected state with a zone in the network media system,but that a connected state may be established.

In some cases, if the mobile device and the network media system are nolonger in a communicative range of the network media system, such aswhen the user leaves the home with the mobile device, the mobile devicemay be configured to relinquish control of the zone such that the mobiledevice and the zone are no longer in the connected state. In thesecases, embodiments described herein may involve transitioning control ofthe playback queue from the mobile device to another device incommunication with the network media system.

After leaving the communicative range of the network media system andrelinquishing control of the playback queue, the mobile device may at alater time re-enter the communicative range of the network media system.In this case, the mobile device may be configured to automaticallyreconnect with the zone. In one example, the mobile device mayre-establish the connected state with the zone of the network mediasystem. In another example, the mobile device may simply connect to thezone, and in some cases establish a new connected state, rather thanre-establishing the previous connected state.

In some cases, modifications to the playlist may be made after themobile device has relinquished control of the playback queue, and beforethe mobile devices has re-entered the communicative range of the networkmedia system. In these cases, embodiments described herein may involveapplying the same modifications to the playback queue.

In addition to interactions relating to establishing the connectedstate, relinquishing control of a playback queue, and re-establishingthe connected state, embodiments described herein may further involveestablishing the connected state with a second zone in the network mediasystem and playing to the second zone. In one example, playing to thesecond zone may involve transferring control of the playback queue bythe mobile device from the playback queue to the second playback queue,and subsequently relinquishing control of the playback queue.

In some cases, the network media system may be accessed by other mobiledevices. In one instance, the playlist on the mobile device may beprivate and inaccessible to a second mobile device. Accordingly, theplayback queue associated with the zone the mobile device is playing tomay be private to the second mobile device. In this instance, aninterface of the second mobile device may provide a private queueindicator to indicate that the zone may be associated with a privatequeue.

As indicated above, the present application involves a silent,unobtrusive connection between a mobile device and a playback zone in anetwork media system. In one aspect, a method is provided. The methodinvolves establishing communication between a mobile device and anetwork media system, and determining that the mobile device was in aprevious connected state with a zone of one or more playback devices inthe network media system. An action taken on one or more media itemsidentified in a playlist on the mobile device via the mobile devicecaused a corresponding action to be taken by the zone on a correspondingone or more media items in a playback queue associated with the zone.The method further involves receiving from the zone, informationidentifying the corresponding one or more media items in the playbackqueue, retrieving by the mobile device an updated playlist identifyingthe corresponding one or more media items received from the zone, andestablishing a new connected state between the mobile device and thezone such that an action taken on one or more media items identified inthe updated playlist via the mobile device causes a corresponding actionto the taken by the zone on the corresponding one or more media items ina playback queue associated with the zone.

In another aspect, a second method is provided. The second methodinvolves establishing communication between a mobile device and anetwork media system. The mobile device is playing back a media item.The second method further involves determining that the mobile devicewas in a previous connected state with a first zone of one or moreplayback devices in the network media system. An action taken on one ormore media items identified in a playlist on the mobile device via themobile device caused a corresponding action to be taken by the firstzone on a first corresponding one or more media items in a firstplayback queue associated with the first zone. The second method furtherinvolves providing for display on an user interface of the mobiledevice, a graphical representation indicating that the first zone was ina previous connected state with the mobile device.

In a further aspect, a non-transitory computer readable memory isprovided. The non-transitory computer readable memory has stored thereoninstructions executable by a computing device to cause the computingdevice to perform functions. The functions include establishingcommunication between a mobile device and a network media system. Themobile device is playing back a media item. The functions furtherinclude determining that the mobile device was in a previous connectedstate with a first zone of one or more playback devices in the networkmedia system. An action taken on one or more media items identified in aplaylist on the mobile device via the mobile device caused acorresponding action to be taken by the first zone on a firstcorresponding one or more media items in a first playback queueassociated with the first zone. The functions further include providingfor display on an user interface of the mobile device, a graphicalrepresentation indicating that the first zone was in a previousconnected state with the mobile device.

In yet another aspect, a device is provided. The device includes aprocessor and memory having stored thereon instructions executable bythe processor to perform functions. The functions include establishingcommunication between a mobile device and a network media system, anddetermining that the mobile device was in a previous connected statewith a zone of one or more playback devices in the network media system.An action taken on one or more media items identified in a playlist onthe mobile device via the mobile device caused a corresponding action tobe taken by the zone on a corresponding one or more media items in aplayback queue associated with the zone. The functions further includereceiving from the zone, information identifying the corresponding oneor more media items in the playback queue, retrieving by the mobiledevice an updated playlist identifying the corresponding one or moremedia items received from the zone, and establishing a new connectedstate between the mobile device and the zone such that an action takenon one or more media items identified in the updated playlist via themobile device causes a corresponding action to the taken by the zone onthe corresponding one or more media items in a playback queue associatedwith the zone.

Other embodiments, as those discussed in the following and others as canbe appreciated by one having ordinary skill in the art are alsopossible.

II. Example Operating Environment

Referring now to the drawings, in which like numerals can refer to likeparts throughout the figures, FIG. 1 shows an example media systemconfiguration 100 in which one or more embodiments disclosed herein canbe practiced or implemented.

By way of illustration, the media system configuration 100 is associatedwith a home having multiple zones, though the home could have beenconfigured with only one zone. Additionally, one or more zones can beadded over time. Each zone may be assigned by a user to a different roomor space, such as, for example, an office, bathroom, bedroom, kitchen,dining room, family room, home theater room, utility or laundry room,and patio. A single zone might also include multiple rooms or spaces ifso configured. With respect to FIG. 1, one or more of zone players102-124 are shown in each respective zone. A zone player 102-124, alsoreferred to herein as a playback device, multimedia unit, speaker,player, and so on, provides audio, video, and/or audiovisual output. Acontroller 130 (e.g., shown in the kitchen for purposes of thisillustration) provides control to the media system configuration 100.Controller 130 may be fixed to a zone, or alternatively, mobile suchthat it can be moved about the zones. The media system configuration 100may also include more than one controller 130, and additionalcontrollers may be added to the system over time.

The media system configuration 100 illustrates an example whole housemedia system, though it is understood that the technology describedherein is not limited to, among other things, its particular place ofapplication or to an expansive system like a whole house media system100 of FIG. 1.

a. Example Zone Players

FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 2C show example types of zone players. Zone players200, 202, and 204 of FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 2C, respectively, can correspondto any of the zone players 102-124 of FIG. 1, for example. In someembodiments, audio is reproduced using only a single zone player, suchas by a full-range player. In some embodiments, audio is reproducedusing two or more zone players, such as by using a combination offull-range players or a combination of full-range and specializedplayers. In some embodiments, zone players 200-204 may also be referredto as a “smart speaker,” because they contain processing capabilitiesbeyond the reproduction of audio, more of which is described below.

FIG. 2A illustrates zone player 200 that includes sound producingequipment 208 capable of reproducing full-range sound. The sound maycome from an audio signal that is received and processed by zone player200 over a wired or wireless data network. Sound producing equipment 208includes one or more built-in amplifiers and one or more acoustictransducers (e.g., speakers). A built-in amplifier is described morebelow with respect to FIG. 4. A speaker or acoustic transducer caninclude, for example, any of a tweeter, a mid-range driver, a low-rangedriver, and a subwoofer. In some embodiments, zone player 200 can bestatically or dynamically configured to play stereophonic audio,monaural audio, or both. In some embodiments, zone player 200 may bedynamically configured to reproduce a subset of full-range sound, suchas when zone player 200 is grouped with other zone players to playstereophonic audio, monaural audio, and/or surround audio or when theaudio content received by zone player 200 is less than full-range.

FIG. 2B illustrates zone player 202 that includes a built-in amplifierto power a set of detached speakers 210. A detached speaker can include,for example, any type of loudspeaker. Zone player 202 may be configuredto power one, two, or more separate loudspeakers. Zone player 202 may beconfigured to communicate an audio signal (e.g., right and left channelaudio or more channels depending on its configuration) to the detachedspeakers 210 via a wired path.

FIG. 2C illustrates zone player 204 that does not include a built-inamplifier, but is configured to communicate an audio signal, receivedover a data network, to an audio (or “audio/video”) receiver 214 withbuilt-in amplification.

Referring back to FIG. 1, in some embodiments, one, some, or all of thezone players 102 to 124 can retrieve audio directly from a source. Forexample, a particular zone player in a zone or zone group may beassigned to a playback queue (or “queue”). The playback queue containsinformation corresponding to zero or more audio items for playback bythe associated zone or zone group. The playback queue may be stored inmemory on a zone player or some other designated device. Each itemcontained in the playback queue may comprise a uniform resourceidentifier (URI) or some other identifier that can be used by the zoneplayer(s) to seek out and/or retrieve the audio items from theidentified audio source(s). Depending on the item, the audio sourcemight be found on the Internet (e.g., the cloud), locally from anotherdevice over the data network 128 (described further below), from thecontroller 130, stored on the zone player itself, or from an audiosource communicating directly to the zone player. In some embodiments,the zone player can reproduce the audio itself (e.g., play the audio),send the audio to another zone player for reproduction, or both wherethe audio is reproduced by the zone player as well as one or moreadditional zone players (possibly in synchrony). In some embodiments,the zone player may play a first audio content (or alternatively, maynot play the content at all), while sending a second, different audiocontent to another zone player(s) for reproduction. To the user, eachitem in a playback queue is represented on an interface of a controllerby an element such as a track name, album name, playlist, or other someother representation. A user can populate the playback queue with audioitems of interest. The user may also modify and clear the playbackqueue, if so desired.

By way of illustration, SONOS, Inc. of Santa Barbara, Calif. presentlyoffers for sale zone players referred to as a “PLAY:5,” “PLAY:3,”“PLAYBAR,” “CONNECT:AMP,” “CONNECT,” and “SUB.” Any other past, present,and/or future zone players can additionally or alternatively be used toimplement the zone players of example embodiments disclosed herein.Additionally, it is understood that a zone player is not limited to theparticular examples illustrated in FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 2C or to the SONOSproduct offerings. For example, a zone player may include a wired orwireless headphone. In yet another example, a zone player might includea sound bar for television. In yet another example, a zone player mayinclude or interact with a docking station for an Apple IPOD™ or similardevice.

b. Example Controllers

FIG. 3 illustrates an example wireless controller 300 in docking station302. By way of illustration, controller 300 may correspond tocontrolling device 130 of FIG. 1. Docking station 302, if provided orused, may provide power to the controller 300 and additionally maycharge a battery of controller 300. In some embodiments, controller 300may be provided with a touch screen 304 that allows a user to interactthrough touch with the controller 300, for example, to retrieve andnavigate a playlist of audio items, control operations of one or morezone players, and provide overall control of the system configuration100. In other embodiments, other input mechanisms such as voice controlmay be used to interact with the controller 300. In certain embodiments,any number of controllers can be used to control the systemconfiguration 100. In some embodiments, there may be a limit set on thenumber of controllers that can control the system configuration 100. Thecontrollers might be wireless like wireless controller 300 or wired todata network 128.

In some embodiments, if more than one controller is used in system 100of FIG. 1, each controller may be coordinated to display common content,and may all be dynamically updated to indicate changes made to thesystem 100 from a single controller. Coordination can occur, forinstance, by a controller periodically requesting a state variabledirectly or indirectly from one or more of the zone players; the statevariable may provide information about system 100, such as current zonegroup configuration, what is playing in one or more zones, volumelevels, and other items of interest. The state variable may be passedaround on data network 128 between zone players (and controllers, if sodesired) as needed or as often as programmed.

In addition, an application running on any network-enabled portabledevice, such as an IPHONE™ IPAD™ ANDROID™ powered phone or tablet, orany other smart phone or network-enabled device can be used ascontroller 130. An application running on a laptop or desktop personalcomputer (PC) or Mac™ can also be used as controller 130. Suchcontrollers may connect to system 100 through an interface with datanetwork 128, a zone player, a wireless router, or using some otherconfigured connection path. Example controllers offered by Sonos, Inc.of Santa Barbara, Calif. include a “Controller 200,” “SONOS® CONTROL,”“SONOS® Controller for IPHONE™,” “SONOS® Controller for IPAD™,” “SONOS®Controller for ANDROID™,” “SONOS® Controller for MAC™ or PC.”

c. Example Data Connection

Zone players 102 to 124 of FIG. 1 are coupled directly or indirectly toa data network, such as data network 128. Controller 130 may also becoupled directly or indirectly to data network 128 or individual zoneplayers. Data network 128 is represented by an octagon in the figure tostand out from other representative components. While data network 128is shown in a single location, it is understood that such a network isdistributed in and around system 100. Particularly, data network 128 canbe a wired network, a wireless network, or a combination of both wiredand wireless networks. In some embodiments, one or more of the zoneplayers 102-124 are wirelessly coupled to data network 128 based on aproprietary mesh network. In some embodiments, one or more of the zoneplayers are coupled to data network 128 using a centralized access pointsuch as a wired or wireless router. In some embodiments, one or more ofthe zone players 102-124 are coupled via a wire to data network 128using Ethernet or similar technology. In addition to the one or morezone players 102-124 connecting to data network 128, data network 128can further allow access to a wide area network, such as the Internet.

In some embodiments, connecting any of the zone players 102-124, or someother connecting device, to a broadband router, can create data network128. Other zone players 102-124 can then be added wired or wirelessly tothe data network 128. For example, a zone player (e.g., any of zoneplayers 102-124) can be added to the system configuration 100 by simplypressing a button on the zone player itself (or perform some otheraction), which enables a connection to be made to data network 128. Thebroadband router can be connected to an Internet Service Provider (ISP),for example. The broadband router can be used to form another datanetwork within the system configuration 100, which can be used in otherapplications (e.g., web surfing). Data network 128 can also be used inother applications, if so programmed. An example, second network mayimplement SONOSNET™ protocol, developed by SONOS, Inc. of Santa Barbara.SONOSNET™ represents a secure, AES-encrypted, peer-to-peer wireless meshnetwork. Alternatively, in certain embodiments, the data network 128 isthe same network, such as a traditional wired or wireless network, usedfor other applications in the household.

d. Example Zone Configurations

A particular zone can contain one or more zone players. For example, thefamily room of FIG. 1 contains two zone players 106 and 108, while thekitchen is shown with one zone player 102. In another example, the hometheater room contains additional zone players to play audio from a 5.1channel or greater audio source (e.g., a movie encoded with 5.1 orgreater audio channels). In some embodiments, one can position a zoneplayer in a room or space and assign the zone player to a new orexisting zone via controller 130. As such, zones may be created,combined with another zone, removed, and given a specific name (e.g.,“Kitchen”), if so desired and programmed to do so with controller 130.Moreover, in some embodiments, zone configurations may be dynamicallychanged even after being configured using controller 130 or some othermechanism.

In some embodiments, a “bonded zone” is a zone that contains two or morezone players, such as the two zone players 106 and 108 in the familyroom, whereby the two zone players 106 and 108 can be configured to playthe same audio source in synchrony. In one example, the two zone players106 and 108 can be paired to play two separate sounds in left and rightchannels, for example. In other words, the stereo effects of a sound canbe reproduced or enhanced through the two zone players 106 and 108, onefor the left sound and the other for the right sound. In another exampletwo or more zone players can be sonically consolidated to form a single,consolidated zone player. A consolidated zone player (though made up ofmultiple, separate devices) can be configured to process and reproducesound differently than an unconsolidated zone player or zone playersthat are paired, because a consolidated zone player has additionalspeaker drivers from which sound can be passed. The consolidated zoneplayer can further be paired with a single zone player or yet anotherconsolidated zone player. Each playback device of a consolidatedplayback device can be set in a consolidated mode, for example.

In certain embodiments, paired or consolidated zone players (alsoreferred to as “bonded zone players”) can play audio in synchrony withother zone players in the same or different zones.

According to some embodiments, one can continue to do any of: group,consolidate, and pair zone players, for example, until a desiredconfiguration is complete. The actions of grouping, consolidation, andpairing are preferably performed through a control interface, such asusing controller 130, and not by physically connecting and re-connectingspeaker wire, for example, to individual, discrete speakers to createdifferent configurations. As such, certain embodiments described hereinprovide a more flexible and dynamic platform through which soundreproduction can be offered to the end-user.

e. Example Audio Sources

In some embodiments, each zone can play from the same audio source asanother zone or each zone can play from a different audio source. Forexample, someone can be grilling on the patio and listening to jazzmusic via zone player 124, while someone is preparing food in thekitchen and listening to classical music via zone player 102. Further,someone can be in the office listening to the same jazz music via zoneplayer 110 that is playing on the patio via zone player 124. In someembodiments, the jazz music played via zone players 110 and 124 isplayed in synchrony. Synchronizing playback amongst zones allows forsomeone to pass through zones while seamlessly (or substantiallyseamlessly) listening to the audio. Further, zones can be put into a“party mode” such that all associated zones will play audio insynchrony.

Sources of audio content to be played by zone players 102-124 arenumerous. In some embodiments, audio on a zone player itself may beaccessed and played. In some embodiments, audio on a controller may beaccessed via the data network 128 and played. In some embodiments, musicfrom a personal library stored on a computer or networked-attachedstorage (NAS) may be accessed via the data network 128 and played. Insome embodiments, Internet radio stations, shows, and podcasts may beaccessed via the data network 128 and played. Music or cloud servicesthat let a user stream and/or download music and audio content may beaccessed via the data network 128 and played. Further, music may beobtained from traditional sources, such as a turntable or CD player, viaa line-in connection to a zone player, for example. Audio content mayalso be accessed using a different protocol, such as AIRPLAY™, which isa wireless technology by Apple, Inc., for example. Audio contentreceived from one or more sources can be shared amongst the zone players102 to 124 via data network 128 and/or controller 130. Theabove-disclosed sources of audio content are referred to herein asnetwork-based audio information sources. However, network-based audioinformation sources are not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, the example home theater zone players 116, 118, 120are coupled to an audio information source such as a television 132. Insome examples, the television 132 is used as a source of audio for thehome theater zone players 116, 118, 120, while in other examples audioinformation from the television 132 may be shared with any of the zoneplayers 102-124 in the audio system 100.

III. Example Zone Players

Referring now to FIG. 4, there is shown an example block diagram of azone player 400 in accordance with an embodiment. Zone player 400includes a network interface 402, a processor 408, a memory 410, anaudio processing component 412, one or more modules 414, an audioamplifier 416, and a speaker unit 418 coupled to the audio amplifier416. FIG. 2A shows an example illustration of such a zone player. Othertypes of zone players may not include the speaker unit 418 (e.g., suchas shown in FIG. 2B) or the audio amplifier 416 (e.g., such as shown inFIG. 2C). Further, it is contemplated that the zone player 400 can beintegrated into another component. For example, the zone player 400could be constructed as part of a television, lighting, or some otherdevice for indoor or outdoor use.

In some embodiments, network interface 402 facilitates a data flowbetween zone player 400 and other devices on a data network 128. In someembodiments, in addition to getting audio from another zone player ordevice on data network 128, zone player 400 may access audio directlyfrom the audio source, such as over a wide area network or on the localnetwork. In some embodiments, the network interface 402 can furtherhandle the address part of each packet so that it gets to the rightdestination or intercepts packets destined for the zone player 400.Accordingly, in certain embodiments, each of the packets includes anInternet Protocol (IP)-based source address as well as an IP-baseddestination address.

In some embodiments, network interface 402 can include one or both of awireless interface 404 and a wired interface 406. The wireless interface404, also referred to as a radio frequency (RF) interface, providesnetwork interface functions for the zone player 400 to wirelesslycommunicate with other devices (e.g., other zone player(s), speaker(s),receiver(s), component(s) associated with the data network 128, and soon) in accordance with a communication protocol (e.g., any wirelessstandard including IEEE 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.15, 4Gmobile communication standard, and so on). Wireless interface 404 mayinclude one or more radios. To receive wireless signals and to providethe wireless signals to the wireless interface 404 and to transmitwireless signals, the zone player 400 includes one or more antennas 420.The wired interface 406 provides network interface functions for thezone player 400 to communicate over a wire with other devices inaccordance with a communication protocol (e.g., IEEE 802.3). In someembodiments, a zone player includes multiple wireless 404 interfaces. Insome embodiments, a zone player includes multiple wired 406 interfaces.In some embodiments, a zone player includes both of the interfaces 404and 406. In some embodiments, a zone player 400 includes only thewireless interface 404 or the wired interface 406.

In some embodiments, the processor 408 is a clock-driven electronicdevice that is configured to process input data according toinstructions stored in memory 410. The memory 410 is data storage thatcan be loaded with one or more software module(s) 414, which can beexecuted by the processor 408 to achieve certain tasks. In theillustrated embodiment, the memory 410 is a tangible machine-readablemedium storing instructions that can be executed by the processor 408.In some embodiments, a task might be for the zone player 400 to retrieveaudio data from another zone player or a device on a network (e.g.,using a uniform resource locator (URL) or some other identifier). Insome embodiments, a task may be for the zone player 400 to send audiodata to another zone player or device on a network. In some embodiments,a task may be for the zone player 400 to synchronize playback of audiowith one or more additional zone players. In some embodiments, a taskmay be to pair the zone player 400 with one or more zone players tocreate a multi-channel audio environment. Additional or alternativetasks can be achieved via the one or more software module(s) 414 and theprocessor 408.

The audio processing component 412 can include one or moredigital-to-analog converters (DAC), an audio preprocessing component, anaudio enhancement component or a digital signal processor, and so on. Insome embodiments, the audio processing component 412 may be part ofprocessor 408. In some embodiments, the audio that is retrieved via thenetwork interface 402 is processed and/or intentionally altered by theaudio processing component 412. Further, the audio processing component412 can produce analog audio signals. The processed analog audio signalsare then provided to the audio amplifier 416 for playback throughspeakers 418. In addition, the audio processing component 412 caninclude circuitry to process analog or digital signals as inputs to playfrom zone player 400, send to another zone player on a network, or bothplay and send to another zone player on the network. An example inputincludes a line-in connection (e.g., an auto-detecting 3.5 mm audioline-in connection).

The audio amplifier 416 is a device(s) that amplifies audio signals to alevel for driving one or more speakers 418. The one or more speakers 418can include an individual transducer (e.g., a “driver”) or a completespeaker system that includes an enclosure including one or more drivers.A particular driver can be a subwoofer (e.g., for low frequencies), amid-range driver (e.g., for middle frequencies), and a tweeter (e.g.,for high frequencies), for example. An enclosure can be sealed orported, for example. Each transducer may be driven by its own individualamplifier.

A commercial example, presently known as the PLAY:5™, is a zone playerwith a built-in amplifier and speakers that is capable of retrievingaudio directly from the source, such as on the Internet or on the localnetwork, for example. In particular, the PLAY:5™ is a five-amp,five-driver speaker system that includes two tweeters, two mid-rangedrivers, and one woofer. When playing audio content via the PLAY:5, theleft audio data of a track is sent out of the left tweeter and leftmid-range driver, the right audio data of a track is sent out of theright tweeter and the right mid-range driver, and mono bass is sent outof the subwoofer. Further, both mid-range drivers and both tweeters havethe same equalization (or substantially the same equalization). That is,they are both sent the same frequencies but from different channels ofaudio. Audio from Internet radio stations, online music and videoservices, downloaded music, analog audio inputs, television, DVD, and soon, can be played from the PLAY:5™.

IV. Example Controller

Referring now to FIG. 5, there is shown an example block diagram forcontroller 500, which can correspond to the controlling device 130 inFIG. 1. Controller 500 can be used to facilitate the control ofmulti-media applications, automation and others in a system. Inparticular, the controller 500 may be configured to facilitate aselection of a plurality of audio sources available on the network andenable control of one or more zone players (e.g., the zone players102-124 in FIG. 1) through a wireless or wired network interface 508.According to one embodiment, the wireless communications is based on anindustry standard (e.g., infrared, radio, wireless standards includingIEEE 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.15, 4G mobile communicationstandard, and so on). Further, when a particular audio is being accessedvia the controller 500 or being played via a zone player, a picture(e.g., album art) or any other data, associated with the audio and/oraudio source can be transmitted from a zone player or other electronicdevice to controller 500 for display.

Controller 500 is provided with a screen 502 and an input interface 514that allows a user to interact with the controller 500, for example, tonavigate a playlist of many multimedia items and to control operationsof one or more zone players. The screen 502 on the controller 500 can bean LCD screen, for example. The screen 500 communicates with and iscommanded by a screen driver 504 that is controlled by a microcontroller(e.g., a processor) 506. The memory 510 can be loaded with one or moreapplication modules 512 that can be executed by the microcontroller 506with or without a user input via the user interface 514 to achievecertain tasks. In some embodiments, an application module 512 isconfigured to facilitate grouping a number of selected zone players intoa zone group and synchronizing the zone players for audio playback. Insome embodiments, an application module 512 is configured to control theaudio sounds (e.g., volume) of the zone players in a zone group. Inoperation, when the microcontroller 506 executes one or more of theapplication modules 512, the screen driver 504 generates control signalsto drive the screen 502 to display an application specific userinterface accordingly.

The controller 500 includes a network interface 508 that facilitateswired or wireless communication with a zone player. In some embodiments,the commands such as volume control and audio playback synchronizationare sent via the network interface 508. In some embodiments, a savedzone group configuration is transmitted between a zone player and acontroller via the network interface 508. The controller 500 can controlone or more zone players, such as 102-124 of FIG. 1. There can be morethan one controller for a particular system, and each controller mayshare common information with another controller, or retrieve the commoninformation from a zone player, if such a zone player storesconfiguration data (e.g., such as a state variable). Further, acontroller can be integrated into a zone player.

It should be noted that other network-enabled devices such as an IPHONE™IPAD™ or any other smart phone or network-enabled device (e.g., anetworked computer such as a PC or MAC™) can also be used as acontroller to interact or control zone players in a particularenvironment. In some embodiments, a software application or upgrade canbe downloaded onto a network-enabled device to perform the functionsdescribed herein.

In certain embodiments, a user can create a zone group (also referred toas a bonded zone) including at least two zone players from thecontroller 500. The zone players in the zone group can play audio in asynchronized fashion, such that all of the zone players in the zonegroup playback an identical audio source or a list of identical audiosources in a synchronized manner such that no (or substantially no)audible delays or hiccups are to be heard. Similarly, in someembodiments, when a user increases the audio volume of the group fromthe controller 500, the signals or data of increasing the audio volumefor the group are sent to one of the zone players and causes other zoneplayers in the group to be increased together in volume.

A user via the controller 500 can group zone players into a zone groupby activating a “Link Zones” or “Add Zone” soft button, or de-grouping azone group by activating an “Unlink Zones” or “Drop Zone” button. Forexample, one mechanism for ‘joining’ zone players together for audioplayback is to link a number of zone players together to form a group.To link a number of zone players together, a user can manually link eachzone player or room one after the other. For example, assume that thereis a multi-zone system that includes the following zones: Bathroom,Bedroom, Den, Dining Room, Family Room, and Foyer.

In certain embodiments, a user can link any number of the six zoneplayers, for example, by starting with a single zone and then manuallylinking each zone to that zone.

In certain embodiments, a set of zones can be dynamically linkedtogether using a command to create a zone scene or theme (subsequent tofirst creating the zone scene). For instance, a “Morning” zone scenecommand can link the Bedroom, Office, and Kitchen zones together in oneaction. Without this single command, the user would manually andindividually link each zone. The single command may include a mouseclick, a double mouse click, a button press, a gesture, or some otherprogrammed or learned action. Other kinds of zone scenes can beprogrammed or learned by the system over time.

In certain embodiments, a zone scene can be triggered based on time(e.g., an alarm clock function). For instance, a zone scene can be setto apply at 8:00 am. The system can link appropriate zonesautomatically, set specific music to play, and then stop the music aftera defined duration. Although any particular zone can be triggered to an“On” or “Off” state based on time, for example, a zone scene enables anyzone(s) linked to the scene to play a predefined audio (e.g., afavorable song, a predefined playlist) at a specific time and/or for aspecific duration. If, for any reason, the scheduled music failed to beplayed (e.g., an empty playlist, no connection to a share, failedUniversal Plug and Play (UPnP), no Internet connection for an InternetRadio station, and so on), a backup buzzer can be programmed to sound.The buzzer can include a sound file that is stored in a zone player, forexample.

V. Playback Queue

As discussed above, in some embodiments, a zone player may be assignedto a playback queue identifying zero or more media items for playback bythe zone player. The media items identified in a playback queue may berepresented to the user via an interface on a controller. For instance,the representation may show the user (or users if more than onecontroller is connected to the system) how the zone player is traversingthe playback queue, such as by highlighting the “now playing” item,graying out the previously played item(s), highlighting the to-be-playeditem(s), and so on.

In some embodiments, a single zone player is assigned to a playbackqueue. For example, zone player 114 in the bathroom of FIG. 1 may belinked or assigned to a “Bathroom” playback queue. In an embodiment, the“Bathroom” playback queue might have been established by the system as aresult of the user naming the zone player 114 to the bathroom. As such,contents populated and identified in the “Bathroom” playback queue canbe played via the zone player 114 (the bathroom zone).

In some embodiments, a zone or zone group is assigned to a playbackqueue. For example, zone players 106 and 108 in the family room of FIG.1 may be linked or assigned to a “Family room” playback queue. Inanother example, if family room and dining room zones were grouped, thenthe new group would be linked or assigned to a family room+dining roomplayback queue. In some embodiments, the family room+dining roomplayback queue would be established based upon the creation of thegroup. In some embodiments, upon establishment of the new group, thefamily room+dining room playback queue can automatically include thecontents of one (or both) of the playback queues associated with eitherthe family room or dining room or both. In one instance, if the userstarted with the family room and added the dining room, then thecontents of the family room playback queue would become the contents ofthe family room+dining room playback queue. In another instance, if theuser started with the family room and added the dining room, then thefamily room playback queue would be renamed to the family room+diningroom playback queue. If the new group was “ungrouped,” then the familyroom+dining room playback queue may be removed from the system and/orrenamed to one of the zones (e.g., renamed to “family room” or “diningroom”). After ungrouping, each of the family room and the dining roomwill be assigned to a separate playback queue. One or more of the zoneplayers in the zone or zone group may store in memory the associatedplayback queue.

As such, when zones or zone groups are “grouped” or “ungrouped”dynamically by the user via a controller, the system will, in someembodiments, establish or remove/rename playback queues respectively, aseach zone or zone group is to be assigned to a playback queue. In otherwords, the playback queue operates as a container that can be populatedwith media items for playback by the assigned zone. In some embodiments,the media items identified in a playback queue can be manipulated (e.g.,re-arranged, added to, deleted from, and so on).

By way of illustration, FIG. 6 shows an example network 600 for mediacontent playback. As shown, the example network 600 includes examplezone players 612 and 614, example audio sources 662 and 664, and examplemedia items 620. The example media items 620 may include playlist 622,music track 624, Internet radio station 626, playlists 628 and 630, andmusic album 632. In one embodiment, the zone players 612 and 614 may beany of the zone players shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 4. For instance, zoneplayers 612 and 614 may be the zone players 106 and 108 in the FamilyRoom.

In one example, the example audio sources 662 and 664, and example mediaitems 620 may be partially stored on a cloud network, discussed morebelow in connection to FIG. 6. In some cases, the portions of the audiosources 662, 664, and example media items 620 may be stored locally onone or both of the zone players 612 and 614. In one embodiment, playlist622, Internet radio station 626, and playlist 630 may be stored locally,and music track 624, playlist 628, and music album 632 may be stored onthe cloud network.

Each of the example media items 620 may be a list of media itemsplayable by a zone player(s). In one embodiment, the example media itemsmay be a collection of links or pointers (i.e. URI) to the underlyingdata for media items that are stored elsewhere, such as the audiosources 662 and 664. In another embodiment, the media items may includepointers to media content stored on the local zone player, another zoneplayer over a local network, or a controller device connected to thelocal network.

As shown, the example network 600 may also include an example queue 602associated with the zone player 612, and an example queue 604 associatedwith the zone player 614. Queue 606 may be associated with a group, whenin existence, comprising zone players 612 and 614. Queue 606 mightcomprise a new queue or exist as a renamed version of queue 602 or 604.In some embodiments, in a group, the zone players 612 and 614 would beassigned to queue 606 and queue 602 and 604 would not be available atthat time. In some embodiments, when the group is no longer inexistence, queue 606 is no longer available. Each zone player and eachcombination of zone players in a network of zone players, such as thoseshown in FIG. 1 or that of example zone players 612, 614, and examplecombination 616, may be uniquely assigned to a corresponding playbackqueue.

A playback queue, such as playback queues 602-606, may includeidentification of media content to be played by the corresponding zoneplayer or combination of zone players. As such, media items added to theplayback queue are to be played by the corresponding zone player orcombination of zone players. The zone player may be configured to playitems in the queue according to a specific order (such as an order inwhich the items were added), in a random order, or in some other order.

The playback queue may include a combination of playlists and othermedia items added to the queue. In one embodiment, the items in playbackqueue 602 to be played by the zone player 612 may include items from theaudio sources 662, 664, or any of the media items 622-632. The playbackqueue 602 may also include items stored locally on the zone player 612,or items accessible from the zone player 614. For instance, the playbackqueue 602 may include Internet radio station 626 and music album 632items from audio source 662, and items stored on the zone player 612.

When a media item is added to the queue via an interface of acontroller, a link to the item may be added to the queue. In a case ofadding a playlist to the queue, links to the media items in the playlistmay be provided to the queue. For example, the playback queue 602 mayinclude pointers from the Internet radio station 626 and music album632, pointers to items on the audio source 662, and pointers to items onthe zone player 612. In another case, a link to the playlist, forexample, rather than a link to the media items in the playlist may beprovided to the queue, and the zone player or combination of zoneplayers may play the media items in the playlist by accessing the mediaitems via the playlist. For example, the music album 632 may includepointers to items stored on audio source 662. Rather than adding linksto the items on audio source 662, a link to the music album 632 may beadded to the playback queue 602, such that the zone player 612 may playthe items on the audio source 662 by accessing the items via pointers inthe music album 632.

In some cases, contents as they exist at a point in time within aplayback queue may be stored as a playlist, and subsequently added tothe same queue later or added to another queue. For example, contents ofthe playback queue 602, at a particular point in time, may be saved as aplaylist, stored locally on the zone player 612 and/or on the cloudnetwork. The saved playlist may then be added to playback queue 604 tobe played by zone player 614.

VI. Example Ad-Hoc Network

Particular examples are now provided in connection with FIG. 7 todescribe, for purposes of illustration, certain embodiments to provideand facilitate connection to a playback network. FIG. 7 shows that thereare three zone players 702, 704 and 706 and a controller 708 that form anetwork branch that is also referred to as an Ad-Hoc network 710. Thenetwork 710 may be wireless, wired, or a combination of wired andwireless technologies. In general, an Ad-Hoc (or “spontaneous”) networkis a local area network or other small network in which there isgenerally no one access point for all traffic. With an establishedAd-Hoc network 710, the devices 702, 704, 706 and 708 can allcommunicate with each other in a “peer-to-peer” style of communication,for example. Furthermore, devices may join and/or leave from the network710, and the network 710 will automatically reconfigure itself withoutneeding the user to reconfigure the network 710. While an Ad-Hoc networkis referenced in FIG. 7, it is understood that a playback network may bebased on a type of network that is completely or partially differentfrom an Ad-Hoc network.

Using the Ad-Hoc network 710, the devices 702, 704, 706, and 708 canshare or exchange one or more audio sources and be dynamically grouped(or ungrouped) to play the same or different audio sources. For example,the devices 702 and 704 are grouped to playback one piece of music, andat the same time, the device 706 plays back another piece of music. Inother words, the devices 702, 704, 706 and 708, as shown in FIG. 7, forma HOUSEHOLD that distributes audio and/or reproduces sound. As usedherein, the term HOUSEHOLD (provided in uppercase letters todisambiguate from the user's domicile) is used to represent a collectionof networked devices that are cooperating to provide an application orservice. An instance of a HOUSEHOLD is identified with a household 710(or household identifier), though a HOUSEHOLD may be identified with adifferent area or place.

In certain embodiments, a household identifier (HHID) is a short stringor an identifier that is computer-generated to help ensure that it isunique. Accordingly, the network 710 can be characterized by a uniqueHHID and a unique set of configuration variables or parameters, such aschannels (e.g., respective frequency bands), service set identifier(SSID) (a sequence of alphanumeric characters as a name of a wirelessnetwork), and WEP keys (wired equivalent privacy) or other securitykeys. In certain embodiments, SSID is set to be the same as HHID.

In certain embodiments, each HOUSEHOLD includes two types of networknodes: a control point (CP) and a zone player (ZP). The control pointcontrols an overall network setup process and sequencing, including anautomatic generation of required network parameters (e.g., securitykeys). In an embodiment, the CP also provides the user with a HOUSEHOLDconfiguration user interface. The CP function can be provided by acomputer running a CP application module, or by a handheld controller(e.g., the controller 300) also running a CP application module, forexample. The zone player is any other device on the network that isplaced to participate in the automatic configuration process. The ZP, asa notation used herein, includes the controller 300 or a computingdevice, for example. In some embodiments, the functionality, or certainparts of the functionality, in both the CP and the ZP are combined at asingle node (e.g., a ZP contains a CP or vice-versa).

In certain embodiments, configuration of a HOUSEHOLD involves multipleCPs and ZPs that rendezvous and establish a known configuration suchthat they can use a standard networking protocol (e.g., IP over Wired orWireless Ethernet) for communication. In an embodiment, two types ofnetworks/protocols are employed: Ethernet 802.3 and Wireless 802.11g.Interconnections between a CP and a ZP can use either of thenetworks/protocols. A device in the system as a member of a HOUSEHOLDcan connect to both networks simultaneously.

In an environment that has both networks in use, it is assumed that atleast one device in a system is connected to both as a bridging device,thus providing bridging services between wired/wireless networks forothers. The zone player 706 in FIG. 7 is shown to be connected to bothnetworks, for example. The connectivity to the network 712 is based onEthernet and/or Wireless, while the connectivity to other devices 702,704 and 708 is based on Wireless and Ethernet if so desired.

It is understood, however, that in some embodiments each zone player706, 704, 702 may access the Internet when retrieving media from thecloud (e.g., the Internet) via the bridging device. For example, zoneplayer 702 may contain a uniform resource locator (URL) that specifiesan address to a particular audio track in the cloud. Using the URL, thezone player 702 may retrieve the audio track from the cloud, andultimately play the audio out of one or more zone players.

VII. Another Example System Configuration

FIG. 8 shows a system 800 including a plurality of interconnectednetworks including a cloud-based network and at least one local playbacknetwork. A local playback network includes a plurality of playbackdevices or players, though it is understood that the playback networkmay contain only one playback device. In certain embodiments, eachplayer has an ability to retrieve its content for playback. Control andcontent retrieval can be distributed or centralized, for example. Inputcan include streaming content provider input, third party applicationinput, mobile device input, user input, and/or other playback networkinput into the cloud for local distribution and playback.

As illustrated by the example system 800 of FIG. 8, a plurality ofcontent providers 820-850 can be connected to one or more local playbacknetworks 860-870 via a cloud and/or other network 810. Using the cloud810, a multimedia audio system server 820 (e.g., Sonos™), a mobiledevice 830, a third party application 840, a content provider 850 and soon can provide multimedia content (requested or otherwise) to localplayback networks 860, 870. Within each local playback network 860, 870,a controller 862, 872 and a playback device 864, 874 can be used toplayback audio content.

VII. Example Playback Queue Control Via a Playlist on a Mobile Device

As discussed above, embodiments described herein may involve a connectedstate between a mobile device and a zone in a network media system. Aspreviously discussed, the mobile device may be any network-capabledevice that may be used to play media items and that may be configuredto be in communication with the network media system and one or morezones in the network media system. Also as previously discussed, each ofthe one or more zones in the network media system may include at leastone playback device, and may be associated with a playback queue.

FIG. 9 shows an example flow diagram for establishing a connected statebetween a mobile device and a zone in a network media system, inaccordance with at least some embodiments described herein. Method 900shown in FIG. 9 presents an embodiment of a method that could be used inthe environments 100, 600, 700, and 800 with the systems 200, 202, 204,300, 400, and 500 for example, in communication with one or moredevices, such as those illustrated in FIGS. 2-5. Method 900 may includeone or more operations, functions, or actions as illustrated by one ormore of blocks 902-912. Although the blocks are illustrated insequential order, these blocks may also be performed in parallel, and/orin a different order than those described herein. Also, the variousblocks may be combined into fewer blocks, divided into additionalblocks, and/or removed based upon the desired implementation.

In addition, for the method 900 and other processes and methodsdisclosed herein, the flowchart shows functionality and operation of onepossible implementation of present embodiments. In this regard, eachblock may represent a module, a segment, or a portion of program code,which includes one or more instructions executable by a processor forimplementing specific logical functions or steps in the process. Theprogram code may be stored on any type of computer readable medium, forexample, such as a storage device including a disk or hard drive. Thecomputer readable medium may include non-transitory computer readablemedium, for example, such as computer-readable media that stores datafor short periods of time like register memory, processor cache andRandom Access Memory (RAM). The computer readable medium may alsoinclude non-transitory media, such as secondary or persistent long termstorage, like read only memory (ROM), optical or magnetic disks,compact-disc read only memory (CD-ROM), for example. The computerreadable media may also be any other volatile or non-volatile storagesystems. The computer readable medium may be considered a computerreadable storage medium, for example, or a tangible storage device. Inaddition, for method 900 and other processes and methods disclosedherein, each block in FIG. 9 may represent circuitry that is wired toperform the specific logical functions in the process.

At block 902, method 900 involves displaying on a mobile device, aplaylist identifying one or more media items available for playback viathe mobile device. In one example, the playlist may be a list of linksto media content accessible and playable by the mobile device. As such,the playlist may include one or more uniform resource identifiers (URIs)of the one or more media items identified in the playlist. In one case,the mobile device may be a smart phone that may be utilized as acontroller device, similar to the controller 300 discussed above. Inthis case, the playlist may be displayed on an interface of thecontroller 300, such as the touch screen 304. The touch screen 304 mayalso be used by the user to provide inputs to the mobile device.

As previously mentioned, the information identifying one or more mediaitems in the playlist may be stored on a remote server accessible overthe Internet, a second mobile device in communication with the networkmedia system, or a playback device in the zone of the network mediasystem. Other storage options are also possible.

FIGS. 10A-10C show a series of example user interfaces 1000 forestablishing a connected state between the mobile device and the zone inthe network media system. The interface 1000 shown in FIG. 10A mayinclude an example playlist 1002 that may be provided for display on themobile device as discussed above. As shown, the playlist 1002 mayinclude Track 1, Track 2, Track 3, and Track 4. In one example, the userusing the mobile device may select Track 1. In the case the interface isa touch screen, the user may select Track 1 by a touch input on agraphical representation of Track 1. Upon receiving the selection ofTrack 1, the mobile device may be configured to begin playing Track 1.

During playback of Track 1, the interface 1000 of the mobile device mayprovide “Now Playing” information and playback control options, as shownin FIG. 10B. The “Now Playing” information may include a graphicalrepresentation 1006 for Track 1, such as album art for an album thatincludes Track 1, and data information 1004 for Track 1, such as a tracktitle, a track artist, and/or a track album associated with Track 1. Theplayback control options may include graphical icons for pausingplayback of Track 1, skipping forward to a next track in the playlist,or skipping back to a previous track in the playlist. The playbackcontrol options may also include a graphical icon for viewing a menuwith additional options and/or actions that the user may take on Track 1or the playlist.

The interface 1000 may further include a play-to icon 1010 to indicatean option to extend the playlist to a zone in the network media system.Referring back to FIG. 9 and method 900, block 904 may involve receivingat the mobile device, a first input to extend actions taken on the oneor more media items identified in the playlist to one or more zones in anetwork media system. Accordingly, the first input may include aselection of the play-to icon 1010. In one example, the play-to icon1010 may only be displayed, or may only be selectable if at least onezone in the network media system is available to be extended to.

Upon receiving the first input, which may include the selection of theplay-to icon 1010, block 906 may involve displaying one or more zonerepresentations on the interface 1000 of the mobile device, as shown inFIG. 10C. The zone representations may identify one or more zones fromthe one or more zones in the network media system, such as a“Garage+Garden” zone, a “Master Bedroom” zone, and an “Office” zone. Inaddition, the interface 1000 of FIG. 10C may display a graphicalrepresentation of the mobile device, which in this case, may be an“iPhone.”

As shown in FIG. 10C, an icon 1012 overlaying the graphicalrepresentation of the mobile device may be displayed on the interface toindicate that the playlist on the mobile device is currently active. Inone case, the icon 1012 may also indicate that a media item in theplaylist on the mobile device is currently being played. Also shown inFIG. 10C are graphical icons 1014 overlaying the zone representations.In one example, the graphical icons 1014 may indicate that one or moreof the zones are available for the currently active playlist to beextended to, and that a selection of one of the graphical icons 1014 mayinitiate an extension of the currently active playlist to acorresponding playback zone. In another example, the zonerepresentations may be selectable to initiate an extension of thecurrently active playlist to a corresponding playback zone, while thegraphical icons 1014 may be selectable to access an interface forconfiguring zone groups, as described in sections above. In some cases,the interface 1000 may further display, in response to receiving thefirst input, a graphical representation to inform the user of the optionto extend the playlist. For instance, a textual message may be displayedto explicitly indicate that a selection of a zone representation on theinterface may cause actions of the mobile device to be extended to thezone associated with the zone representation.

Referring back to method 900, block 908 may involve receiving at themobile device, a second input indicating a selection of the zone. In oneexample, the zone representation for the “Master Bedroom” zone may beselected via the interface of the mobile device. In this case, the“Master Bedroom” zone may have been selected for the playlist on themobile device to be extended to. In other words, the “Master Bedroom”zone may have been selected to be in a connected state with the mobiledevice.

As previously discussed, a connected state may be established betweenthe mobile device and the zone such that further actions taken on mediaitems identified in the playlist on the mobile device may also be takenon corresponding media items in a playback queue associated with thezone. Accordingly, at block 910, method 900 may involve causing theplayback queue associated with the zone to be populated with at leastone media item corresponding to at least one of the one or more mediaitems identified in the playlist. As such, the playback queue associatedwith the “Master Bedroom” zone may be populated with at least one mediaitems corresponding to the media items identified in the playlist on themobile device in response to the “Master Bedroom” zone being selected tobe in the connected state with the mobile device. In one case, acorresponding media item may be added to the playback queue for eachmedia item identified in the playlist. In another case, correspondingmedia items may be added to the playback queue for only a subset of themedia items identified in the playlist. In this case, the remainingcorresponding media items may be added to the playback queue for theremaining media items at a later time. In some cases, media itemsalready in the playback queue may be replaced by the media itemsidentified in the playlist. In other words, media items already in theplayback queue may be removed prior to adding the corresponding mediaitems to the playback queue.

As mentioned above, the playlist may include one or more uniformresource identifiers (URIs) of the one or more media items identified inthe playlist. In this case, causing the playback queue associated withthe zone to be to be populated with at least one of the one or moremedia items identified in the playlist may involve the zone receivingand storing the one or more URIs. In one case, the mobile device maysend the one or more URIs directly to one or more of the playbackdevices in the zone. In another case, the mobile device may send the oneor more URIs to one or more playback devices in the zone via anotherdevice in the network media system.

As the playback queue associated with the zone, which in this case maybe the “Master Bedroom” zone, is populated with the at least onecorresponding media item, block 912 of method 900 may involve causingthe network media system to be configured such that an action taken onthe at least one media item identified in the playlist on the mobiledevice via the mobile device causes a corresponding action to be takenby the zone on the at least one corresponding media item in the playbackqueue, thereby establishing the connected state between the mobiledevice and the zone.

As shown and discussed in FIGS. 10A-10C, a connected state between thezone and the mobile device may be established after the mobile device isalready playing a media content (Track 1) identified in the playlist. Inone case, the connected state between the mobile device and the zone mayinvolve transferring or moving the playback of Track 1 by the mobiledevice to the zone, such that playback by the mobile device may bestopped or muted, while playback of Track 1 by the zone begins. In oneinstance, playback of Track 1 by the zone may begin where playback ofTrack 1 by the mobile device was stopped or muted in a substantiallyseamless manner.

In another case, the connected state between the mobile device and thezone may involve the zone playing Track 1 in synchrony with the mobiledevice upon establishing the connected state, instead of playing Track 1from the beginning. Similarly, if Track 2 is being played by the mobiledevice when the connected state is established, the zone may beconfigured to play Track 2 in synchrony with the mobile device insteadof playing Track 1 from the beginning. In either case, a playbackprogress of the media content may be tracked and provided on aninterface of the mobile device whether playback of the media content isin synchrony by the mobile device and the zone, or has been transferredfrom the mobile device to the zone. In embodiments discussed hereafter,a connected state between a mobile device and a zone may involve themobile device and the zone playing media content in synchrony, orinvolve the mobile device displaying information for media content beingplayed by the zone without also playing the media content.

In one example, the playback of Track 1 by the zone may be streamed fromthe mobile device upon initial establishment of the connected state.This may provide a more seamless extension of the playlist on the mobiledevice to the zone. As mentioned above, corresponding media items mayinitially be added to the playback queue for only a subset of the mediaitems identified in the playlist, and the remaining corresponding mediaitems may be added to the playback queue for the remaining media itemsat a later time. For instance, the remaining corresponding media itemsmay not be added until a subsequent action is taken on media itemsidentified in the playlist. In one case, a URI for Track 1 and Track 2may be provided immediately, and the URIs for Track 3 and Track 4 may beprovided at a later time.

In another case, no URI may be provided to the zone until an action istaken on a media item identified in the playlist to causing acorresponding action to be taken by the zone. For instance, uponestablishing the connected state between the mobile device and the zone,the zone may play media items, in some cases in synchrony with themobile device, by streaming the media content from the mobile deviceuntil an action is taken on a media item identified in the playlistafter the connected state has been established. In one instance, acorresponding media item may be added to the playback queue of the zonefor each media item identified in the playlist. In another instance,corresponding media items may be added to the playback queue for onlythe media items identified in the playlist relevant to the action taken.

The actions that may be taken on the at least one media item identifiedin the playlist may include playing one of the one or more media itemsin the playlist, pausing a playback of one of the one or more mediaitems in the playlist, muting a playback of one of the one or more mediaitems in the playlist, removing one of the one or more media items inthe playlist, adding a media item to the one or more media items in theplaylist, removing a media item from the one or more media items in theplaylist, and playing a next media item in the one or more media itemsin the playlist.

FIG. 10D shows an example playlist 1016 on the mobile device next to anexample playback queue 1018 associated with the zone, which in this casemay be the “Master Bedroom” zone. As shown, the playlist 1016 and theplayback queue 1018 include matching media items, and may both beindicating that Track 1 is currently playing. As indicated above, thezone may be playing Track 1 and the mobile device may be displaying theplayback state as reflected in the playlist, or both the mobile deviceand the zone may be playing Track 1 in synchrony.

In one case, the side-by-side comparison of the playlist 1016 and theplayback queue 1018 may be provided on the interface of the mobiledevice to provide the user information on media content being played bythe mobile device and the zone while in the connected state. In anothercase, the interface may provide only the playlist 1016, similar to thatshown in FIG. 10A, and not explicitly provide the playback queue 1018.In this case, a connected state icon, as will be discussed in thefollowing section, may be provided to indicate that the mobile deviceand the zone are in a connected state such that the playback queue 1018associated with the zone has been populated with media itemscorresponding to media items identified in the playlist 1016. As furthershown in FIG. 10D, the playback queue 1018 may be identified as aprivate queue. In discussions herein, a private queue may be a playbackqueue containing content only accessible to users with access rights tothe playback queue. Additional discussion relating to private queues maybe found in sections below.

Other example methods, interactions and interfaces may also be possible.

VIII. Example Connected State Indicator

As mentioned above, the interface on the mobile device may be configuredto display a connected state indicator. FIG. 11 shows an example flowdiagram for providing an example connected state indicator, inaccordance with at least some embodiments described herein. Method 1100shown in FIG. 11 presents an embodiment of a method that could be usedin the environments 100, 600, 700, and 800 with the systems 200, 202,204, 300, 400, and 500 for example, in communication with one or moredevices, such as those illustrated in FIGS. 2-5. Method 1100 may includeone or more operations, functions, or actions as illustrated by one ormore of blocks 1102-1104. Although the blocks are illustrated insequential order, these blocks may also be performed in parallel, and/orin a different order than those described herein. Also, the variousblocks may be combined into fewer blocks, divided into additionalblocks, and/or removed based upon the desired implementation.

At block 1102, method 1100 may involve determining that a mobile deviceis in a connected state with a zone of one or more playback devices in anetwork media system. As previously discussed, the connected statebetween the mobile device and the zone may be established such that anaction taken on one or more media items identified in a playlist on themobile device via the mobile device causes a corresponding action to thetaken by the zone on a corresponding one or more media items in aplayback queue associated with the zone. Also as previously discussed,the corresponding one or more media items populating the playback queuemay be in the form of information identifying the one or more mediaitems in playlist on the mobile device.

In one example, determining that the mobile device is in a connectedstate with the zone may involve receiving data confirming that aconnected state has been established between the mobile device and thezone. In another example, determining that the mobile device is in aconnected state with the zone may involve receiving a state variablefrom one or more playback devices in the zone indicating that the zoneis in a connected state with the mobile device. As such, the statevariable may indicate that an action taken on one or more media itemsidentified in a playlist on the mobile device via the mobile device maycause a corresponding action to the taken by the zone on a correspondingone or more media items in the playback queue.

At block 1104, method 110 may involve displaying on a user interface ofthe mobile device, a first status representation indicating that themobile device is in the connected state with the zone of the networkedmedia system. As suggested previously, the user interface of the mobiledevice may be provided on a touch-sensitive screen, such as the touchscreen 304 of the controller 300.

FIG. 12 shows an example user interface 1000 providing an exampleconnected state indicator 1020 as the first status representation. Asshown, the connected state indicator 1020 may be a modified version ofthe play-to icon 1010 shown in FIG. 10B. In this example, the connectedstate indicator 1020 may be a modified version of the play-to icon 1010with higher color contrast. Also as shown, the connected state indicator1020 may be displayed in the same, or substantially the same location onthe user interface 1000 as the play-to icon 1010. As such, the connectedstate indicator 1020 may also be a selectable play-to icon such that theconnected state indicator 1020 may be selected to extend the activeplaylist to another zone, while indicating that the mobile deviceproviding the interface is in a connected state with a zone in thenetwork media system, and that one or more other zones in the networkmedia system may be available for extending the active playlist to.

In another example, as will be further discussed below, the mobiledevice may at some point after establishing the connected state with thezone, be no longer in the connected state with the zone. Responsive todetermining that the mobile device is no longer in the connected statewith the zone, the interface of the mobile device may display a secondstatus representation indicating that the mobile device is not in theconnected state with the zone. As such, the second status representationmay indicate that the action taken via the mobile device on the one ormore media items identified in the playlist on the mobile device willnot cause the corresponding action to the taken by the zone on thecorresponding one or more media items in the playback queue.

In one example, the second status representation indicating that themobile device is not in the connected state with the zone may replacethe first status representation on the mobile device. In one case, thesecond status representation may be displayed in the same, orsubstantially the same location on the user interface 1000 as the firststatus representation, which as shown in FIG. 12, may be the connectedstate indicator 1020. Further, the second status representation may be amodified version of the first status representation. For instance, thesecond status representation may be a dimmed version of the connectedstate indicator 1020. In one example, the second status representationmay be the play-to icon 1010, which may accordingly indicate that theaction taken via the mobile device on the one or more media itemsidentified in the playlist on the mobile device will not cause thecorresponding action to the taken by the zone on the corresponding oneor more media items in the playback queue, while also indicating thatone or more zones in the network media system are available to extendthe active playlist to.

Other example methods, interactions and interfaces may also be possible.

IX. Example Playback Queue Control Transition

As mentioned previously, the mobile device may at some point afterestablishing the connected state with the zone, be no longer in theconnected state with the zone. This may be if the user leaves the homewith the mobile device. In such a case, embodiments described herein mayinvolve the mobile device relinquishing control and transitioningcontrol of the playback queue from the mobile device to another devicein communication with the network media system.

FIG. 13 shows an example flow diagram for transitioning control of aplayback queue, in accordance with at least some embodiments describedherein. Method 1300 shown in FIG. 13 presents an embodiment of a methodthat could be used in the environments 100, 600, 700, and 800 with thesystems 200, 202, 204, 300, 400, and 500 for example, in communicationwith one or more devices, such as those illustrated in FIGS. 2-5. Method1300 may include one or more operations, functions, or actions asillustrated by one or more of blocks 1302-1306. Although the blocks areillustrated in sequential order, these blocks may also be performed inparallel, and/or in a different order than those described herein. Also,the various blocks may be combined into fewer blocks, divided intoadditional blocks, and/or removed based upon the desired implementation.

At block 1302, method 1300 may involve establishing a connected statebetween a mobile device and a zone in a network media system such thatan action taken on one or more media items identified in a playlist onthe mobile device via the mobile device causes a corresponding action tobe taken by the zone on a corresponding one or more media items in aplayback queue associated with the zone. In other words, block 1302 mayinvolve establishing a connected state between the mobile device and thezone in the network media system as discussed previously in connectionto method 900 of FIG. 9.

As previously discussed, establishing communication between the mobiledevice and the zone of the network media system such that the mobiledevice and the zone are in a connected state may involve causing theplayback queue associated with the zone of the network media system tobe populated with at least one of the one or more media items identifiedin the playlist. In some cases, causing the playback queue associatedwith the zone of the network media system to be populated with at leastone of the one or more media items identified in the playlist mayfurther involve adding the information identifying one or more mediaitems in the playlist to the playback queue. Also as discussedpreviously, the information identifying one or more media items added tothe playback queue may be stored on a remote server accessible over theInternet, a second mobile device in communication with the network mediasystem, or a playback device in the zone of the network media system.

At block 1304, method 1300 may involve determining that the mobiledevice is no longer in communication with the network media system. Inone example, determining that the mobile device is no longer incommunication with the network media system may involve sending amessage from the mobile device to the network media system and receivingno response message. As suggested before, this may be the case if theuser leaves the communicative range of the network media system with themobile device.

At block 1306, method 1300 may involve causing the mobile device torelinquish control of the network media system, such that a furtheraction taken on the one or more media items identified in the playlistvia the mobile device does not cause a corresponding further action tobe taken by the zone on the corresponding one or more media items in theplayback queue associated with the zone. In one example, prior todetermining that the mobile device is no longer in communication withthe network media system, the mobile device may determine thatcommunication with the network media system may soon be lost. This maybe a determination that a signal strength between the mobile device andthe network media system is becoming gradually weaker. Responsive todetermining that communication with the network media system may soon belost, a message may be sent to the network media system to cause thenetwork media system to be reconfigured such that the further actiontaken on the one or more media items via the mobile device does notcause the corresponding further action to be taken on the correspondingone or more media items in the playback queue once the mobile device isno longer in communication with the network media system.

While the mobile device may naturally relinquish control of the zone inthe network media system because the mobile device is no longer incommunication with the network media system and may not effectivelycontrol the network media system or any zone in the network media systemas a result, the mobile device may be configured to relinquish controlof the network media system in response to determining that the mobiledevice is no longer in communication with the network media system suchthat both the mobile device and the network media system may continueoperating in a substantially smooth and seamless manner.

In one example, after a connected state has been established between themobile device and the zone of the network media system as discussed inconnection to block 1302, and prior to determining that the mobiledevice is no longer in communication with the network media system asdiscussed in connection to block 1304, the mobile device may receive aninput from a user to cause the action on a media item in the one or moremedia items identified in the playlist, and responsively, acorresponding action on the corresponding one or more media items in theplayback queue may be taken.

As previously discussed, the actions that may be taken on the at leastone media item identified in the playlist may include, for example,playing one of the one or more media items in the playlist, pausing aplayback of one of the one or more media items in the playlist, muting aplayback of one of the one or more media items in the playlist, removingone of the one or more media items in the playlist, adding a media itemto the one or more media items in the playlist, removing a media itemfrom the one or more media items in the playlist, and playing a nextmedia item in the one or more media items in the playlist.

Accordingly, the corresponding action taken on the corresponding one ormore media items in the playback queue may include playing thecorresponding one or more media items, pausing playback of thecorresponding one or more media items, muting playback of thecorresponding one or more media items, removing the corresponding one ormore media items from the playback queue, adding a new media item to theone or more corresponding media items in the playback queue, and playinga next media item in the one or more corresponding media items in theplayback queue. In one case, an indication may be provided on theinterface of the mobile device that an action has been taken on the oneor more media items identified in the playlist on the mobile device, andthat a corresponding action has accordingly been taken on thecorresponding one or more media items in the playback queue associatedwith a zone of the network media system.

In one example, if a media item identified in the playlist and acorresponding media item in the playback queue are being played insynchrony when the mobile device and the network media system become nolonger in communication, the mobile device may be configured to continuethe action of playing the media item identified in the playlist despitethe mobile device relinquishing control of the network media system.Similarly, the zone of the network media system may be configured tocontinue the corresponding action of playing the corresponding mediaitem in the playback queue despite being no longer controlled by themobile device.

In another example, the mobile device may be configured such that theaction taken on the media item identified in the playlist and thecorresponding action taken on the corresponding media item in theplayback queue may be modified in response to determining that themobile device is no longer in communication with the network mediasystem. In one embodiment as discussed above, the connected statebetween the mobile device and the zone may involve only the zone playingthe media content. In such a case, the mobile device may be configuredto begin playing the media content in response to determining that themobile device is no longer in communication with the network mediasystem. In this case, the mobile device may substantially seamlesslybegin playing the media content at where playback of the media item bythe zone was when communication between the mobile device and thenetwork media system was lost. Some other example modifications to theaction taken on the media item identified in the playlist may includeadjusting a playback volume of the media item being played, pausingplayback of the media items, or muting playback of the media item. Inone instance, a message may be sent by the mobile device to the networkmedia system to cause the modification of the corresponding action upondetermining that communication with the network media system may soon belost. In one case, the action and the corresponding action may bemodified similarly, while in another case, the action and thecorresponding action may be modified differently.

FIGS. 14A-B show a series of example user interfaces for transitioningcontrol of a playback queue. Upon relinquishing control of the networkmedia system, the mobile device may provide on the interface anindication that the mobile device has relinquished control of thenetwork media system. As shown in FIG. 14A, and as discussed in theprevious section, the indication may be a graphical representation suchas the play-to icon 1010 as previously shown in FIG. 10B. Accordingly,the play-to icon 1010 may indicate that the action taken on the one ormore media items identified in the playlist on the mobile device via themobile device will no longer cause the corresponding action to the takenby the zone on the corresponding one or more media items in the playbackqueue.

FIG. 14B shows updated versions of example playlist 1016 and exampleplayback queue 1018 previously shown in FIG. 10D, after the mobiledevice and the network media system have become disconnected. In thisexample, the mobile device may have been configured to modify the actiontaken on the media item Track 1 and pause the playback of the media itemupon disconnecting from and relinquishing control of the network mediasystem, while the zone in the network media system may have beenconfigured to continue the corresponding action without modification. Asshown, the zone may have continued to play media items in the playbackqueue and may have begun playing Track 2 upon completing playback ofTrack 1.

Other example methods, interactions and interfaces may also be possible.

X. Example Silent Connect

As mentioned previously, the mobile device may re-enter thecommunicative range of the network media system at a later time, afterleaving the communicative range of the network media system andrelinquishing control of the playback queue. In one case, the mobiledevice may be configured to automatically re-establish the connectedstate with the zone.

FIG. 15 shows a first example flow diagram for reconnecting a mobiledevice to a zone in a network media system, in accordance with at leastsome embodiments described herein. Method 1500 shown in FIG. 15 presentsan embodiment of a method that could be used in the environments 100,600, 700, and 800 with the systems 200, 202, 204, 300, 400, and 500 forexample, in communication with one or more devices, such as thoseillustrated in FIGS. 2-5. Method 1500 may include one or moreoperations, functions, or actions as illustrated by one or more ofblocks 1502-1506. Although the blocks are illustrated in sequentialorder, these blocks may also be performed in parallel, and/or in adifferent order than those described herein. Also, the various blocksmay be combined into fewer blocks, divided into additional blocks,and/or removed based upon the desired implementation.

At block 1502, method 1500 may involve establishing communicationbetween a mobile device and a network media system. As suggestedpreviously, the mobile device may have re-entered the communicativerange of the network media system. For instance, the user may havereturned home with the mobile device. Accordingly, as the mobile deviceis once again in communicative range of the network media system,communication may be again established between the mobile device and thenetwork media system.

Block 1504 of the method 1500 may involve determining that the mobiledevice was in a previous connected state with a zone of one or moreplayback devices in the network media system. As discussed above, theplayback queue associated with the zone previously in a connected statewith the mobile device may be a private queue as a result of beingpopulated with media items corresponding to media items identified inthe playlist on the mobile device. In such cases, determining that themobile device was in a previous connected state with the zone mayinvolve acquiring state variables from one or more playback devices inzones of the network media system and determining based on the acquiredstate variables that one of the zones in the network media system was inthe previous connected state with the zone.

Determining that the mobile device was in a previous connected statewith the zone may further involve determining that the playback queueassociated with the zone was not modified after the mobile devicerelinquished control of the zone. In other words, if the playback queuehas been modified, the playback queue may no longer be a private queueassociated with the mobile device and the existence of a previousconnected state may be obsolete. In such a case, the mobile device maysimply establish a connected state with the zone according to method 900of FIG. 9 rather than re-establish the connected state as currentlydiscussed.

In one example, the zone may have continued to play corresponding mediaitems in the playback queue associated with the zone after the mobiledevice relinquished control of the zone. In such a case, determiningthat the mobile device was in the previous connected state with the zonemay involve determining that the zone is playing a particular media itemfrom the associated playback queue that was populated with media itemscorresponding to media items identified in the playlist on the mobiledevice when the mobile device was in the previous connected state withthe zone.

Upon determining that the mobile device was in a previous connectedstate with the zone, a determination may then be made as to whether theconnected state with the zone may be automatically re-established. Aswill be further discussed below, the connected state may not beautomatically re-established if the mobile device is playing a mediaitem, or if the playback queue associated with the zone had beenmodified when communication with the network media system isestablished. Accordingly, determining whether a new connected state maybe automatically re-established may involve determining that the mobiledevice is not playing back any media item.

As suggested previously, the mobile device may have been configured tomodify the action taken on media items identified in the playlist bypausing playback of the media items upon relinquishing control over thenetwork media system. In another case, the user may have paused playbackof media items on the mobile device while the mobile device is not incommunication with the network media system (and as a result, thepausing media playback did not cause pausing of the playback ofcorresponding media items in the playback queue associated with thezone.) Accordingly, the mobile device may not be playing any media itemswhen communication with the network media system is re-established.

After determining that the connected state may be automaticallyre-established with the zone, block 1506 of method 1500 may involvereceiving from the zone, information identifying the corresponding oneor more media items in the playback queue. In one example, theinformation identifying the corresponding one or more media items in theplayback queue may be received from the one or more playback devices ofthe zone.

Subsequently, block 1508 of method 1500 may involve retrieving by themobile device an updated playlist identifying the corresponding one ormore media items received from the zone, and at block 1510 of method1500 may involve re-establishing the connected state between the mobiledevice and the zone such that an action taken on one or more media itemsidentified in the updated playlist via the mobile device causes acorresponding action to the taken by the zone on the corresponding oneor more media items in the playback queue associated with the zone.

In other words, as opposed to the embodiment discussed in connection tomethod 900 of FIG. 9 in which the playback queue of the zone ispopulated by media items corresponding to media items identified in theplaylist on the mobile device, the retrieved playlist on the mobiledevice in this case may be generated from information identifying thecorresponding media items in the playback queue associated with thezone. Effectively, the playlist on the mobile device may be updated, orin another sense, reverted back to the playlist that was active on themobile device when the connected state with the zone was previouslyestablished.

Once the connected state between the mobile device and the zone has beenre-established, the interface of the mobile device may display agraphical representation 1080 as shown on the interface 1000 of FIG. 16to indicate to the user that the connected state between the mobiledevice and the zone has been re-established. In this example, becausethe mobile device was previously in a connected state with the “MasterBedroom” zone, and has subsequently re-established the connected state,the graphical representation 1080 may indicate that the mobile devicehas reconnected with the “Master Bedroom” zone.

As discussed previously, the mobile device may in some cases beconfigured to only provide playback information of media items beingplayed by the zone without playing the media items in synchrony with thezone. In some other cases, the media device may be configured to playmedia items in synchrony with the zone. Analogous to when a connectedstate is first established between the mobile device and the zone of thenetwork media system, playback of media items by the mobile device andthe zone may now be synchronized. However, because the zone may beplaying a particular media item in the playback queue while the mobiledevice may not be playing any media item when the connected state isre-established, the mobile device may be configured to responsively playa media item from the update playlist corresponding to the particularmedia item played by the zone, in synchrony with the zone.

In addition to method 1500 of FIG. 15, FIG. 17 shows a second exampleflow diagram for reconnecting a mobile device to a zone in a networkmedia system, in accordance with at least some embodiments describedherein. Method 1700 shown in FIG. 17 presents an embodiment of a methodthat could be used in the environments 100, 600, 700, and 800 with thesystems 200, 202, 204, 300, 400, and 500 for example, in communicationwith one or more devices, such as those illustrated in FIGS. 2-5. Method1700 may include one or more operations, functions, or actions asillustrated by one or more of blocks 1702-1706. Although the blocks areillustrated in sequential order, these blocks may also be performed inparallel, and/or in a different order than those described herein. Also,the various blocks may be combined into fewer blocks, divided intoadditional blocks, and/or removed based upon the desired implementation.

At block 1702, method 1700 may involve establishing communicationbetween a mobile device and a network media system, and block 1704 ofmethod 1700 may involve determining that the mobile device was in aprevious connected state with a zone of one or more playback devices inthe network media system, similar to blocks 1502 and 1504 respectively,of method 1500.

As was the case with method 1500, if the mobile device was previously ina connected state with the zone of the network media system, the zonemay still be taking the corresponding action on the corresponding mediaitems in the playback queue associated with the zone as a result of anaction taken on media items identified in the playlist on the mobiledevice. For instance, the zone may still be playing the correspondingmedia items in the queue as a result of media items identified in theplaylist being played on the mobile device previously.

In contrast to the case of method 1500, the mobile device may be playinga media item when the mobile device re-establishes communication withthe network media system. In one instance, the mobile device may havecontinued an action of playing media items identified in the playlistafter relinquishing control of the network media system. In this case,however, playback of media items identified in the playlist may not besynchronized with a corresponding playback of corresponding media itemsin the playback queue associated with the zone the mobile device waspreviously in a connected state with, because the mobile device and thenetwork media system were not in communication for a period of time.

In another instance, the mobile device may be configured to modify theaction of the mobile device upon relinquishing control of the networkmedia system, and playback of media items identified in the playlist maytherefore not be synchronized with a corresponding playback ofcorresponding media items in the playback queue. In yet anotherinstance, the user may have taken further actions on media itemsidentified in the playlist on the mobile device such that playback ofmedia items identified in the playlist may not be synchronized with acorresponding playback of corresponding media items in the playbackqueue.

Whichever the case, if the mobile device is playing a media item whencommunication with the network media system is re-established, aconnected state with the zone of the network media system may not bere-established automatically. In the case of method 900 or method 1500discussed previously, one of the active playlist or the active playbackqueue may be automatically applied or extended to the other, because theother may be inactive. In contrast, both the playlist on the mobiledevice and the playback queue associated with the zone in this case maybe active, and accordingly, the connected state between the mobiledevice and the zone may not be re-established without an indication fromthe user as to which of the playlist and playback queue is to be appliedor extended to the other.

As such, after determining that one of the zones in the network mediasystem was in the previous connected state with the zone, block 1706 ofmethod 1700 may involve providing for display on the user interface ofthe mobile device, a graphical representation indicating that the firstzone was in a previous connected state with the mobile device topotentially prompt the user to provide an indication of how to proceed,rather than automatically re-establishing the connected state.

FIGS. 18A-E show a series of example user interfaces for a first exampleof re-connecting a mobile device to a zone in a network media system.FIG. 18A shows the example interface 1000 of the mobile device whencommunication with the network media system has been re-established. Asshown, Track 5 may be playing on the mobile device, and the play-to icon1010 may indicate that one or more zones in the network media system maybe available for extending the playlist onto the mobile device.

In this case, the user may select the play-to icon 1010, and theinterface 1000 as shown in FIG. 18B may be provided. As shown, graphicalrepresentations of the available zones are provided similar to thatshown previously in FIG. 10C. In this case however, a previous connectedstate icon 1060 may be provided overlaying the graphical representationof the “Master Bedroom” zone indicating that the mobile device waspreviously in a connected state with the “Master Bedroom” zone, asdiscussed above in connection to block 1506 of method 1500.

From the interface 1000 shown in FIG. 18B, the user may choose toestablish a connected state between the mobile device and any of thezones graphically represented on the interface as previously discussedin connection to method 900 of FIG. 9. For instance, the mobile devicemay receive an input indicating a selection of one of the graphicallyrepresented zones. In one case, the selected zone may be the “Office”zone, and subsequently a playback queue associated with the “Office”zone may be populated with media items corresponding to the one or moremedia items identified in the playlist currently being played by themobile device, and the network media system may be configured such thatan action taken on the one or more media items identified in theplaylist via the mobile device causes a corresponding action to be takenon the corresponding one or more media items in the playback queueassociated with the “Office” zone.

In another case, the selected zone may be the “Master Bedroom” zone,which the mobile device was previously in a connected state with. Inthis case, the interface 1000 as shown in FIG. 18C may display aconfirmation prompt 1062 with a connect icon 1064 and a replace icon1066. The confirmation prompt 1062 may be displayed to prompt the userto indicate whether the mobile device should connect to the “MasterBedroom” zone, or replace what is playing in the “Master Bedroom” zone,as previously discussed.

If the user selects the connect icon 1064 to connect to the “MasterBedroom” zone, the connected state between the mobile device and the“Master Bedroom” zone may be re-established similar to that describedabove in connection to method 1500 where the active playback queueassociated with the “Master Bedroom” zone may be applied or extended tothe mobile device. In this case, if the “Master Bedroom” zone iscurrently playing Track 2, then the mobile device may stop playing Track5 and display information identifying Track 2. In some embodiments, themobile device may be configured to begin playing Track 2 in synchronywith the “Master Bedroom” zone. In some other embodiments, the mobiledevice may display information identifying Track 2 without playing Track2 in synchrony with the “Master Bedroom” zone. In either case, theinterface 1000 as shown in FIG. 18D may display data information 1004identifying Track 2 as the media item currently being played, andconnected state indicator 1020 indicating that mobile device is now in aconnected state. In this example, playback of Track 2 by the “MasterBedroom” zone may be uninterrupted.

Referring back to FIG. 18C, if the user instead selects the replace icon1066 to replace what is currently playing in the “Master Bedroom” zone,the connected state between the mobile device and the “Master Bedroom”zone may be re-established similar to that described above in connectionto method 900 where the active playlist on the mobile device may beapplied or extended to the “Master Bedroom” zone. In this case, becausethe mobile device is playing Track 5, the “Master Bedroom” zone may stopplaying Track 2 and begin playing Track 5. In one case, the “MasterBedroom” zone may play Track 2 in synchrony with the mobile device. Inanother case, the mobile device may stop playing Track 5 when the“Master Bedroom” zone begins playing Track 5. In either case, theinterface 1000 as shown in FIG. 18E may display data information 1004identifying Track 5 as the media item currently being played, andconnected state indicator 1020 indicating that mobile device is now in aconnected state. In this example, playback of Track 5 by the mobiledevice may be uninterrupted.

Other example methods, interactions and interfaces may also be possible.

XI. Example Playlist Modification

As mentioned previously, modifications to the playlist may be made afterthe mobile device has relinquished control of the playback queue, andbefore the mobile devices has re-entered the communicative range of thenetwork media system. FIG. 19 shows an example flow diagram formodifying a playback queue of a zone according to a modification made toa playlist on a previously connected mobile device while the mobiledevice was not connected to the zone, in accordance with at least someembodiments described herein. Method 1900 shown in FIG. 19 presents anembodiment of a method that could be used in the environments 100, 600,700, and 800 with the systems 200, 202, 204, 300, 400, and 500 forexample, in communication with one or more devices, such as thoseillustrated in FIGS. 2-5. Method 1900 may include one or moreoperations, functions, or actions as illustrated by one or more ofblocks 1902-1912. Although the blocks are illustrated in sequentialorder, these blocks may also be performed in parallel, and/or in adifferent order than those described herein. Also, the various blocksmay be combined into fewer blocks, divided into additional blocks,and/or removed based upon the desired implementation.

At block 1902, method 1900 may involve establishing a connected statebetween a mobile device and a zone in a network media system such thatan action taken on one or more media items identified in a playlist onthe mobile device via the mobile device causes a corresponding action tobe taken by the zone on a corresponding one or more media items in aplayback queue associated with the zone. In one example, the connectedstate may be established according to one of the methods discussed abovefor establishing the connected state.

At block 1904, method 1900 may involve disconnecting the mobile devicefrom the network media system such that the mobile device and the zoneare no longer in the connected state. In one example, the mobile devicemay be disconnected from the network media system according to method1300 of FIG. 13 discussed above, and in one case, disconnecting themobile device from the network media system may involve determining thatthe mobile device is no longer in communication with the network mediasystem. This may be the case when the mobile device moves out of acommunicative range of the network media system. Accordingly, the mobiledevice may also relinquish control of the zone upon being disconnectedfrom the network media system.

At block 1906, method 1900 may involve providing the playlist fordisplay on a user interface of the mobile device. In one example, theinterface 1000 as shown in FIG. 10A may be displayed, showing mediaitems identified in the playlist on the mobile device. In one case, theplaylist may be displayed in response to a user input indicating thatthe user wishes to view the playlist.

Upon viewing the playlist, the user may wish to make changes to theplaylist. Accordingly, at block 1908, method 1900 may involve receivingvia the mobile device, a first user input indicating a modification tothe playlist on the mobile device. The modification to the playlist mayinvolve adding or removing media items, or reordering media itemsidentified in the playlist. In the case the interface of the mobiledevice is provided on a touch screen, the first user input may beprovided via the touch screen. The playlist on the mobile device maythen be modified accordingly and stored in response to receiving thefirst user input.

At block 1910, method 1900 may involve determining that the connectedstate between the mobile device and the zone in the network media systemis to be re-established. In one example determining that the connectedstate between the mobile device and the zone in the network media systemis to be re-established may further involve determining thatcommunication between the mobile device and the network media system hasbeen re-established when the mobile device is once again withincommunicative range of the network media system, and determining thatthe mobile device was previously in a connected state with the zone inthe network media system.

In one case, determining that the connected state between the mobiledevice and the zone is to be re-established may further involveproviding for display on the interface of the mobile device a prompt fora user input to indicate whether the mobile device and the zone in thenetwork media system is to be re-established, and receiving via themobile device, a second user input indicating that the connected statebetween the mobile device and the zone in the network media system is tobe re-established. In this case, the prompt may be displayed upondetermining that communication between the mobile device and the networkmedia system has been re-established and that a zone in the networkmedia system was previously in a connected state with the mobile device.

FIGS. 20A-B shows a series of example user interfaces for modifying aplayback queue of a zone according to a modification made to a playliston a previously connected mobile device while the mobile device was notconnected to the zone. As shown in FIG. 20A, a confirmation prompt 1068similar to that shown in FIG. 16C may be provided to prompt the user toindicate whether the corresponding modification to the playlist on themobile device should be may be applied to the playback queue whenre-establishing the connected state between the mobile device and thezone. As shown, the confirmation prompt 1068 may further include acancel icon 1070 and a replace icon 1072.

In this case, if the user selects the cancel icon 1070, thecorresponding modification to the playlist may not be applied to theplayback queue, and in one case, the connected state between the mobiledevice and the zone may not be re-established. On the other hand, if theuser selects the replace icon 1072, then a determination is made thatthe connected state between the mobile device and the zone is to bere-established. In a further embodiment, the corresponding modificationto the playlist may not be applied to the playback queue, but theconnected state between the mobile device and the zone may bere-established such that the mobile device displays informationidentifying media items in the playback queue and/or media items beingplayed by the zone.

Responsive to determining that the connected state between the mobiledevice and the zone is to be re-established, block 1912 of method 1900may involve the mobile device sending to the zone, an update messageindicating the modification to the playlist on the mobile device tocause a corresponding modification to be made to the playback queueassociated with the zone. In one example, sending the update message tothe zone may involve sending the update message to at least one playbackdevice of the one or more playback devices in the zone.

In one case, the update message may include a modified playlistgenerated from applying the modification to the playlist on the mobiledevice. In this case, the zone may be configured to replace media itemsin the playback queue associated with the zone with media itemscorresponding to media items identified in the modified playlist, inresponse to receiving the update message. The replaced media items inthis case, may be media items previously added to the playback queuewhen the previous connected state between the mobile device and the zonewas established.

In another case, the update message may identify one or more updatesassociated with at least one of the one or more media items identifiedin the playlist. In this case, the zone may be configured to apply theone or more updates to the corresponding at least one of one or moremedia items in the playback queue associated with the zone, in responseto receiving the update message.

In one example, as previously mentioned, the zone may continue to playcorresponding media items in the playback queue after the mobile deviceis no longer in communication with the network media system and hasrelinquished control of the zone. As such, the zone may be playing acorresponding media item in the playback queue when the determination ismade that the connected state is to be re-established between the zoneand the mobile device.

In one case, the modifications in the update message received by thezone may involve the corresponding media item being played by the zonewhen the determination is made that the connected state is to bere-established between the zone and the mobile device. In this case,playback of the corresponding media item may be stopped so that themodifications may be applied.

In another case, the modifications in the update message received by thezone may not involve the corresponding media item being played by thezone when the determination is made that the connected state is to bere-established between the zone and the mobile device. In this case, thecorresponding media item may continue to be played by the zone while themodifications indicated in the update message may be applied to one ormore other corresponding media items in the playback queue.

In a further case, the modifications in the update message may involvereordering the corresponding media items in the playback queue,including the particular corresponding media item being played by thezone when the determination is made that the connected state is to bere-established between the zone and the mobile device. In such a case,the particular corresponding media item may continue to play while thereordering of the playback queue is applied.

For example, the particular corresponding media item may be at anoriginal playback position in the playback queue. For purposes ofillustration, the first playback position may be a fifth position suchthat four media items are in front of the particular corresponding mediaitem in the playback queue, and an additional three media items, forexample are after the particular corresponding media item in theplayback queue. In one case, the modifications may involve reorderingthe media items in the playback queue such that the playback position ofthe particular corresponding media item in the playback queue is changedto a new playback position. For purposes of illustration, the newplayback position may be the second position in the modified playbackqueue, such that only one media item is in front of the particularcorresponding media item in the modified playback queue, and six mediaitems are after the particular media item in the modified playbackqueue.

In this case, the particular corresponding media item may continue to beplayed by the zone while the playback queue is modified, such that theplayback position of the particular corresponding media item is updatedto be in the new position of the now updated playback queue, rather thanthe original fifth position, without stopping playback of the particularcorresponding media item. In other words, the reordering of media itemsin the playback queue may be modified “around” the particularcorresponding media item that is being played in a substantiallyseamless manner.

Upon re-establishing the connected state between the mobile device andthe zone, and accordingly applying modification made to the playlist tothe playback queue associated with the zone, the interface 1000 as shownin FIG. 20B may be provided by the mobile device indicating that Track5, as identified by the data information 1004 is being played. In onecase, Track 5 may be the particular corresponding media item beingplayed by the zone when the connected state was re-established. Alsoshown in FIG. 20B is the connected state indicator 1020 indicating thatmobile device is now in a connected state

Other example methods, interactions and interfaces may also be possible.

XII. Example Moving of a Playback Queue to a New Zone

As mentioned previously, embodiments described herein may furtherinvolve establishing the connected state with a second zone in thenetwork media system and playing to the second zone. FIG. 21 shows anexample flow diagram for moving a playback queue to a new zone, inaccordance with at least some embodiments described herein. Method 2100shown in FIG. 21 presents an embodiment of a method that could be usedin the environments 100, 600, 700, and 800 with the systems 200, 202,204, 300, 400, and 500 for example, in communication with one or moredevices, such as those illustrated in FIGS. 2-5. Method 2100 may includeone or more operations, functions, or actions as illustrated by one ormore of blocks 2102-2108. Although the blocks are illustrated insequential order, these blocks may also be performed in parallel, and/orin a different order than those described herein. Also, the variousblocks may be combined into fewer blocks, divided into additionalblocks, and/or removed based upon the desired implementation.

At block 2102, method 2100 may involve establishing a connected statebetween a mobile device and a first zone of one or more playback devicesin a network media system. In one example, the connected state may beestablished according to methods discussed above, such as method 900shown in FIG. 9. Accordingly, the connected state between the mobiledevice and the first zone may be established such that an action takenon a playlist identifying one or more media items via the mobile devicecauses a corresponding action to be taken on a first playback queueassociated with the first zone. As also previously discussed, the firstplayback queue includes one or more media items corresponding to the oneor more media items identified in the playlist. In the case of method900, the first zone may be the “Master Bedroom” zone.

FIGS. 22A-E shows a series of example user interfaces for moving aplayback queue to a new zone. FIG. 22A shows the interface 1000 after aconnected state has been established between the mobile device and thefirst zone, and is playing Track 1, as indicated by the data information1004. Similar to that shown in FIG. 12, the interface 1000 also displaysa connected state icon 1020 indicating that the mobile device is now ina connected state with the first zone.

At block 2104, method 2100 may involve displaying on the mobile device,a graphical representation of a second zone of one or more playbackdevices in the network media system. Similar to the first zone, thesecond zone may be associated with a second playback queue. FIG. 22Bshows the interface 1000 displaying zone representations identifyingzones in the network media system, including the “Garage+Garden” zone,the “Master Bedroom” zone, and the “Office” zone, as well as thegraphical representation of the “iPhone” mobile device, similar to thatshown in FIG. 10C. In this case, the icon 1012 may overlay the graphicalrepresentation of the “Master Bedroom” zone to indicate that the firstplayback queue associated with the first zone, which in this case is the“Master Bedroom” zone, is active. Also shown in FIG. 22B are graphicalicons 1014 similar to that shown previously in FIG. 10C.

At block 2106, method 2100 may involve receiving a first input via themobile device indicating a selection of the second zone. In one example,the user may provide an input, such as a touch input on the interface1000 shown in FIG. 22B indicating a selection of the “Office” zone. Inthis case, the input may involve the user touching or tapping thegraphical representation of the “Office” zone. Responsive to the firstinput selecting the “Office” zone, block 2108 of method 2100 may involveestablishing the connected state between the mobile device and thesecond zone such that an action taken on the playlist via the mobiledevice causes a corresponding action to be taken on both the first andsecond playback queues.

In this case, however, the mobile device may already be in a connectedstate with the “Master Bedroom” zone. Accordingly, the interface 1000may display the confirmation prompt 1062 similar to that shownpreviously in FIG. 18C. In this case, the confirmation prompt 1062 maybe displayed with the connect icon 1064 and the replace icon 1066 toprompt the user to indicate whether the mobile device should connect tothe “Office” zone, or replace what is playing in the “Office” zone,respectively. In some embodiments, the replace icon 1066 may prompt theuser to indicate whether the mobile device should connect to the“Office” zone, or move what is currently playing in the “Master Bedroom”zone to the “Office” zone.

If the user selects the replace icon 1066 to replace (or move) what iscurrently playing in the “Office” zone, the connected state between themobile device and the “Office” zone may be established similar to thatdescribed above in connection to method 900 where the active playlist onthe mobile device may be applied or extended to the “Office” zone. Assuch, a playback queue associated with the “Office” zone may bepopulated with media items corresponding to media items identified inthe active playlist. In the case the mobile device was playing a mediaitem in the active playlist in synchrony with the “Master Bedroom” zone,a media item in the playback queue associated with the “Office” zonecorresponding to the media item in the active playlist may then beplayed by the “Office” zone in synchrony with the playback of the mediaitem by the mobile device. Note that in this case, the playback queueassociated with the first zone, which in this example may be the “MasterBedroom” zone, is already populated with media items corresponding tomedia items identified in the playlist on the mobile device. As such,the second zone, which in this example may be the “Office” zone, mayreceive information identifying the corresponding media items fromeither the mobile device, one or more playback devices in the firstzone, or both.

In one example, the selection of the replace icon 1066 may not create azone group for the “Office” zone and the “Master Bedroom” zone such thatthe “Office” zone and “Master Bedroom” zone both play correspondingmedia items from their respective playback queues in synchrony with themobile device. Rather, the connected state between the mobile device andthe “Master Bedroom” zone may be transferred (replaced or moved) tobecome a connected state between the mobile device and the “Office”zone. In other words, the mobile device may effectively relinquishcontrol of the “Master Bedroom” zone. Accordingly, the “Master Bedroom”zone may, in one case, continue to playback corresponding media items inthe playback queue associated with the “Master Bedroom” zone, aspreviously discussed in connection to method 1300 of FIG. 13. In anothercase, the “Master Bedroom” zone may stop playing the corresponding mediaitems in the playback queue.

As part of transferring the connected state, playback of thecorresponding media items by the first and second zones (“MasterBedroom” zone and “Office” zone, respectively in this example) may alsobe effectively transferred. In one example the “Office” zone may beginplaying the corresponding media items in synchrony with the “MasterBedroom” zone and the mobile device in response to establishing theconnected state between the mobile device and the “Office” zone. In onecase, playback of the corresponding media item by the “Office” zone maybegin by fading in. Once the “Office” zone is playing the correspondingmedia item in synchrony with the “Master Bedroom” zone and the mobiledevice, playback of the corresponding media item by the “Master Bedroom”zone may stop. In one case, the playback of the corresponding media itemby the “Master Bedroom” zone may stop by fading out. As such, theconnected state as well as the playback of the corresponding media itemsmay be transferred in a substantially seamless manner.

FIG. 22D shows the interface 1000 after a connected state has beenestablished between the mobile device and the “Office” zone in responseto the selection of the replace icon 1066. As shown, the mobile devicemay be playing Track 1 as indicated by the data information 1004, andmay be in a connected state, as indicated by the connected stateindicator 1020.

Referring back to FIG. 22C, if the user instead selects the connect icon1064 to connect to the “Office” zone, a connected state between themobile device and the “Office” zone may be established similar to thatdescribed above in connection to method 1500 such that the playlist onthe mobile device may be populated with media items corresponding tomedia items identified in a playback queue associated with the “Office”zone. As in the case discussed above, the playback queue associated withthe first zone may already be populated with media items correspondingto media items identified in the playlist on the mobile device.Accordingly, the second zone may receive information identifying thecorresponding media items from either the mobile device, one or moreplayback devices in the first zone, or both.

In this case, the connected state between the mobile device and the“Master Bedroom” zone may not be transferred to become the connectedstate between the mobile device and the “Office” zone. In other words,the connected state established between the mobile device and the“Office” zone may be effectively a new connected state, albeit with thesame active playlist on the mobile device and the same correspondingmedia items as in the connected state between the mobile device and the“Master Bedroom” zone. In one example, playback of corresponding mediaitems by the “Office” zone may be stopped in response to establishingthe connected state between the mobile device and the “Office” zone whenthe connect icon 1064 is selected. In one case, playback of media itemson the mobile device, if present, may also be stopped.

In another case, because the playback queue associated with the “Office”zone may be a private queue already populated with the media itemscorresponding to media items identified in the active playlist,establishing the connected state between the mobile device and the“Office” zone in response to the selection of the connect icon may notinvolve re-populating the playback queue, but rather re-acquiringcontrol access of the private queue by the mobile device, such that anaction taken on media items identified in the active playlist on themobile device via the mobile device causes a corresponding action to betaken on corresponding media items in the private queue. In oneinstance, establishing the connected state by re-acquiring control ofthe private queue may be referred to as establishing a control state.

FIG. 22E shows the interface 1000 after a connected state has beenestablished between the mobile device and the “Office” zone in responseto the selection of the connect icon 1064. In one case, neither themobile device nor the “Office” zone may be playing a media item.However, a media item from the newly populated playback queue orpreviously populated private queue, such as Track 1, as shown, may beprovided as a first media item in the playback queue associated with the“Office” zone, awaiting a corresponding action. Also shown in theinterface 1000 of FIG. 22E is that the mobile device may be in aconnected state, as indicated by the connected state indicator 1020.

In a further case when the connect icon 1064 is selected, the playbackqueue associated with the “Office” zone may not be immediately replacedand/or populated with media items corresponding to the media itemsidentified in the playlist on the mobile device. In this case, the“Office” zone may continue to play media items the “Office” zone mayhave been playing prior to being selected for the connected state withthe mobile device until an action is taken on one or more media itemsidentified in the playlist on the mobile device. At this point, playbackof any previous media items by the “Office” zone may be stopped, theplayback queue associated with the “Office” zone may be populated withmedia items corresponding to media items identified in the playlist, andan action corresponding to the action taken on the one or more mediaitems in the playlist on the mobile device may be taken one or more ofthe corresponding media items in the playback queue.

Other example methods, interactions and interfaces may also be possible.

XIII. Example Private Queue Indicator

As mentioned previously, the network media system may also be accessedby a second mobile device. In one instance, the playlist on the mobiledevice may be private and inaccessible to the second mobile device.Accordingly, the playback queue associated with the zone the mobiledevice is playing to may also be private to the second mobile device. Inthis instance, an interface of the second mobile device may provide aprivate queue indicator to indicate that the zone may be associated witha private queue.

FIG. 23 shows an example flow diagram providing a private queueindicator, in accordance with at least some embodiments describedherein. Method 2300 shown in FIG. 23 presents an embodiment of a methodthat could be used in the environments 100, 600, 700, and 800 with thesystems 200, 202, 204, 300, 400, and 500 for example, in communicationwith one or more devices, such as those illustrated in FIGS. 2-5. Method2300 may include one or more operations, functions, or actions asillustrated by one or more of blocks 2302-2304. Although the blocks areillustrated in sequential order, these blocks may also be performed inparallel, and/or in a different order than those described herein. Also,the various blocks may be combined into fewer blocks, divided intoadditional blocks, and/or removed based upon the desired implementation.

At block 2302, method 2300 may involve determining by a first mobiledevice that a playback queue associated with a zone of one or moreplayback devices in a networked media system is a private queue. Asdiscussed previously, the private queue may be a playback queuecontaining content only accessible to users and/or mobile devices withaccess rights to the playback queue. For instance, the private queue mayinclude one or more media items from a second playlist on a secondmobile device. Further, a credential may be required to access privatequeue information identifying the one or more media items in the privatequeue.

In one case, the private queue may be generated when a playback queueassociated with a zone is populated with media items corresponding tomedia items identified in a playlist on a mobile device. As such, aprivate queue associated with a zone may be generated when a connectedstate is generated between the zone and the mobile device.

At block 2304, method 2300 may involve displaying on a user interface ofthe first mobile device, a first status representation indicating thatthe queue associated with the zone of the networked media system is aprivate queue such that the credential may required to access theprivate queue information.

FIGS. 24A-D show a series of example user interfaces for providing aprivate queue indicator. FIG. 24A shows an example playlist 1202 thatmay be provided on an interface of the mobile device. In this example,the mobile device may already be in a connected state with the “Office”zone as discussed in the previous section in connection with method 2100and FIGS. 22A-22E. As shown, the playlist 1202 may include media itemsTrack 10 to Track 17. In one example, the user using the mobile devicemay select Track 14, and upon receiving the selection of Track 14, themobile device may be configured to begin playing Track 14.

During playback of Track 14, the interface 1000 of the mobile device mayprovide “Now Playing” information and playback control options, as shownin FIG. 24B. The “Now Playing” information may include data information1004 identifying Track 14. In this case, as mentioned previously, themobile device may be in a connected state with the “Office” zone, andaccordingly, the connected state indicator 1020 may be displayed on theinterface 1000. As suggested previously, the connected state indicator1020 may also function as a play-to icon. Accordingly, the user mayselect the connected state indicator 1020 if the user wishes to extendactions taken on the one or more media items identified in the playlist1202 to one or more zones in a network media system.

Upon receiving the selection of the connected state indictor 1020, theinterface 1000 may display zone representations of zones in the networkmedia system, as shown in FIG. 24C. In this example, zones in thenetwork media system may include the “Garage+Garden” zone, the “MasterBedroom” zone, and the “Office” zone. Also shown in FIG. 24C, the icon1012 overlaying the graphical representation of the “Office” zone may bedisplayed on the interface to indicate that the playback queueassociated with the “Office” zone may be currently active, and graphicalicons 1014 overlaying the zone representations may indicate that one ormore of the zones are available for the currently active playlist to beextended to. In this case, a private queue icon 1060 may overlay thegraphical representation of the “Master Bedroom” zone, because asdiscussed, the “Master Bedroom” zone may have previously been in aconnected state with the mobile device and as a result may be associatedwith a private playback queue populated with media items correspondingto media items identified in the previously active playlist 1002 shownin FIG. 10A. As shown, the private queue icon 1060 may be graphicallysimilar to that of the play-to 1010 icon or connected state icon 1020.

In one case, the user may select the graphical representation of the“Master Bedroom” zone, which may be associated with a private queue asindicated by the private queue icon 1060 overlaying the graphicalrepresentation of the “Master Bedroom” zone. In this case, because themobile device was previously in the connected state with the “MasterBedroom” zone, the confirmation prompt 1062 with the connect icon 1064and replace icon 1066 may be displayed by the interface 1000 as shown inFIG. 24D to prompt the user to indicate whether the mobile device shouldconnect to the “Master Bedroom” zone, or replace (or transfer) what isplaying in the “Master Bedroom” zone, as previously discussed inconnection to FIGS. 18C and 22C.

If the user selects the replace icon 1066, a connected state may beestablished between the mobile device and the “Master Bedroom” zone aspreviously discussed in connection to FIG. 22D, such that the privatequeue associated with the “Master Bedroom” zone may become populatedwith media items corresponding to media items identified in the activeplaylist 1202. Accordingly, an action taken on one or more media itemsidentified in the active playlist 1202 via the mobile device may cause acorresponding action to be taken by the “Master Bedroom” zone on acorresponding one or more media items in the private queue associatedwith the “Master Bedroom” zone. Analogously, if the user selects theconnect icon 1064, a connected state (or control state) may beestablished between the mobile device and the “Master Bedroom” zone aspreviously discussed in connection to FIGS. 22B and 22E.

Note that in this example, the mobile device that was previously in theconnected state with the “Master Bedroom” zone may be the same mobiledevice that is accessing the playlist 1202 and that may be in aconnected state with the “Office” zone. As such, the mobile device mayautomatically have access to the private queue associated with the“Master Bedroom” zone, thereby allowing the mobile device to establishthe connected state with the “Master Bedroom” zone.

However, referring back to method 2300, a similar sequence of theinterface shown in FIGS. 24A-D may also be displayed by the mobiledevice if the mobile device is a different mobile device than the mobiledevice that was previously in the connected state with the “MasterBedroom” zone. In this case, the mobile device may be required toprovide a credential to access the private queue associated with the“Master Bedroom” zone between when the “Master Bedroom” zone is selectedon the interface 1000 as shown in FIG. 24C, and when the user isprompted to indicate on the interface 1000 how the connected state is tobe established, as shown in FIG. 24D. In one example, providing thecredential may involve prompting the user of the mobile device to entera password. In another example, the credential may involve an identifierof the user of the mobile device, or an identifier of the mobile deviceitself.

Other example configurations and embodiments may also be possible.

XIV. Conclusion

The descriptions above disclose various example systems, methods,apparatus, and articles of manufacture including, among othercomponents, firmware and/or software executed on hardware. However, suchexamples are merely illustrative and should not be considered aslimiting. For example, it is contemplated that any or all of thesefirmware, hardware, and/or software components can be embodiedexclusively in hardware, exclusively in software, exclusively infirmware, or in any combination of hardware, software, and/or firmware.Accordingly, while the following describes example systems, methods,apparatus, and/or articles of manufacture, the examples provided are notthe only way(s) to implement such systems, methods, apparatus, and/orarticles of manufacture.

As indicated above, the present application involves a silent,unobtrusive connection between a mobile device and a playback zone in anetwork media system. In one aspect, a method is provided. The methodinvolves establishing communication between a mobile device and anetwork media system, and determining that the mobile device was in aprevious connected state with a zone of one or more playback devices inthe network media system. An action taken on one or more media itemsidentified in a playlist on the mobile device via the mobile devicecaused a corresponding action to be taken by the zone on a correspondingone or more media items in a playback queue associated with the zone.The method further involves receiving from the zone, informationidentifying the corresponding one or more media items in the playbackqueue, retrieving by the mobile device an updated playlist identifyingthe corresponding one or more media items received from the zone, andestablishing a new connected state between the mobile device and thezone such that an action taken on one or more media items identified inthe updated playlist via the mobile device causes a corresponding actionto the taken by the zone on the corresponding one or more media items ina playback queue associated with the zone.

In another aspect, a second method is provided. The second methodinvolves establishing communication between a mobile device and anetwork media system. The mobile device is playing back a media item.The second method further involves determining that the mobile devicewas in a previous connected state with a first zone of one or moreplayback devices in the network media system. An action taken on one ormore media items identified in a playlist on the mobile device via themobile device caused a corresponding action to be taken by the firstzone on a first corresponding one or more media items in a firstplayback queue associated with the first zone. The second method furtherinvolves providing for display on an user interface of the mobiledevice, a graphical representation indicating that the first zone was ina previous connected state with the mobile device.

In a further aspect, a non-transitory computer readable memory isprovided. The non-transitory computer readable memory has stored thereoninstructions executable by a computing device to cause the computingdevice to perform functions. The functions include establishingcommunication between a mobile device and a network media system. Themobile device is playing back a media item. The functions furtherinclude determining that the mobile device was in a previous connectedstate with a first zone of one or more playback devices in the networkmedia system. An action taken on one or more media items identified in aplaylist on the mobile device via the mobile device caused acorresponding action to be taken by the first zone on a firstcorresponding one or more media items in a first playback queueassociated with the first zone. The functions further include providingfor display on an user interface of the mobile device, a graphicalrepresentation indicating that the first zone was in a previousconnected state with the mobile device.

In yet another aspect, a device is provided. The device includes aprocessor and memory having stored thereon instructions executable bythe processor to perform functions. The functions include establishingcommunication between a mobile device and a network media system, anddetermining that the mobile device was in a previous connected statewith a zone of one or more playback devices in the network media system.An action taken on one or more media items identified in a playlist onthe mobile device via the mobile device caused a corresponding action tobe taken by the zone on a corresponding one or more media items in aplayback queue associated with the zone. The functions further includereceiving from the zone, information identifying the corresponding oneor more media items in the playback queue, retrieving by the mobiledevice an updated playlist identifying the corresponding one or moremedia items received from the zone, and establishing a new connectedstate between the mobile device and the zone such that an action takenon one or more media items identified in the updated playlist via themobile device causes a corresponding action to the taken by the zone onthe corresponding one or more media items in a playback queue associatedwith the zone.

Additionally, references herein to “embodiment” means that a particularfeature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with theembodiment can be included in at least one example embodiment of theinvention. The appearances of this phrase in various places in thespecification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment,nor are separate or alternative embodiments mutually exclusive of otherembodiments. As such, the embodiments described herein, explicitly andimplicitly understood by one skilled in the art, can be combined withother embodiments.

The specification is presented largely in terms of illustrativeenvironments, systems, procedures, steps, logic blocks, processing, andother symbolic representations that directly or indirectly resemble theoperations of data processing devices coupled to networks. These processdescriptions and representations are typically used by those skilled inthe art to most effectively convey the substance of their work to othersskilled in the art. Numerous specific details are set forth to provide athorough understanding of the present disclosure. However, it isunderstood to those skilled in the art that certain embodiments of thepresent disclosure can be practiced without certain, specific details.In other instances, well known methods, procedures, components, andcircuitry have not been described in detail to avoid unnecessarilyobscuring aspects of the embodiments. Accordingly, the scope of thepresent disclosure is defined by the appended claims rather than theforgoing description of embodiments.

When any of the appended claims are read to cover a purely softwareand/or firmware implementation, at least one of the elements in at leastone example is hereby expressly defined to include a tangible mediumsuch as a memory, DVD, CD, Blu-ray, and so on, storing the softwareand/or firmware.

We claim:
 1. A mobile device comprising: a user interface; a networkinterface; an audio output interface; a processor; a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium; and program instructions stored on thenon-transitory computer-readable medium that are executable by theprocessor to cause the mobile device to perform functions comprising:while in a communication range of a network media system comprising oneor more playback devices, transitioning the mobile device from a firstunconnected state during which the mobile device is configured to playback media items in a first playback queue via the audio outputinterface of the mobile device to a first connected state with at leastone playback device of the network media system by (i) causing the firstplayback queue to be associated with the at least one playback device ofthe network media system and (ii) configuring the mobile device tocontrol playback of media items in the first playback queue by the atleast one playback device of the network media system rather thanplaying back media items in the first playback queue via the audiooutput interface of the mobile device. detecting that the mobile devicehas moved outside of the communication range of the network media systemwhile operating in the first connected state; in response to detectingthat the mobile device has moved outside of the communication range ofthe network media system, transitioning the mobile device from the firstconnected state to a second unconnected state during which the mobiledevice is configured to play back media items in a second playback queueassociated with the mobile device via the audio output interface of themobile device while the first playback queue remains associated with theat least one playback device of the network media system; after themobile device is back in the communication range of the network mediasystem, (i) receiving a request to connect to the at least one playbackdevice of the network media system and (ii) determining that the mobiledevice was operating in the first connected state with the at least oneplayback device of the network media system when it previously movedoutside of the communication range of the network media system; andresponsive to both receiving the request to connect to the at least oneplayback device of the network media system and determining that themobile device was operating in the first connected state with the atleast one playback device of the network media system when it previouslymoved outside of the communication range of the network media system,transitioning the mobile device from the second unconnected state to asecond connected state with at least one playback device of the networkmedia system by configuring the mobile device to control playback ofmedia items in the first playback queue by the at least one playbackdevice of the network media system rather than playing back media itemsin the second playback queue via the audio output interface of themobile device.
 2. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein transitioningthe mobile device from the second unconnected state to the secondconnected state with at least one playback device of the network mediasystem further comprises: if the mobile device is playing back a givenmedia item in the second playback queue, stopping the mobile device fromplaying back of the given media item in the second playback queue of themobile device.
 3. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein transitioningthe mobile device from the second unconnected state to the secondconnected state with at least one playback device of the network mediasystem further comprises: suspending use of the second playback queue.4. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein transitioning the mobile devicefrom the second unconnected state to the second connected state with atleast one playback device of the network media system further comprises:causing the user interface of the mobile device to change fromdisplaying a representation of the second playback queue to displaying arepresentation of the first playback queue.
 5. The mobile device ofclaim 1, wherein the program instructions stored on the non-transitorycomputer-readable medium further comprise program instructions that areexecutable by the processor to cause the mobile device to performfunctions comprising: prior to transitioning the mobile device from thefirst unconnected state to the first connected state, (i) detecting thatthe mobile device is in the communication range of the network mediasystem and (ii) receiving a request to connect to the at least oneplayback device of the network media system.
 6. The mobile device ofclaim 5, wherein detecting that the mobile device has moved into thecommunication range of the network media system prior to transitioningthe mobile device from the first unconnected state to the firstconnected state further comprises: detecting that the playback deviceand the mobile device are both connected to the same local area network.7. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein the program instructions storedon the non-transitory computer-readable medium further comprise programinstructions that are executable by the processor to cause the mobiledevice to perform functions comprising: after detecting that the mobiledevice has moved outside of the communication range of the network mediasystem while operating in the first connected state, detecting that themobile device is back in the communication range of the network mediasystem.
 8. A method comprising: while in a communication range of anetwork media system comprising one or more playback devices,transitioning a mobile device from a first unconnected state duringwhich the mobile device is configured to play back media items in afirst playback queue via an audio output interface of the mobile deviceto a first connected state with at least one playback device of thenetwork media system by (i) causing the first playback queue to beassociated with the at least one playback device of the network mediasystem and (ii) configuring the mobile device to control playback ofmedia items in the first playback queue by at the least one playbackdevice of the network media system rather than playing back media itemsin the first playback queue via the audio output interface of the mobiledevice. detecting that the mobile device has moved outside of thecommunication range of the network media system while operating in thefirst connected state; in response to detecting that the mobile devicehas moved outside of the communication range of the network mediasystem, transitioning the mobile device from the first connected stateto a second unconnected state during which the mobile device isconfigured to play back media items in a second playback queueassociated with the mobile device via the audio output interface of themobile device while the first playback queue remains associated with theat least one playback device of the network media system; after themobile device is back in the communication range of the network mediasystem, (i) receiving a request to connect to the at least one playbackdevice of the network media system and (ii) determining that the mobiledevice was operating in the first connected state with the at least oneplayback device of the network media system when it previously movedoutside of the communication range of the network media system; andresponsive to both receiving the request to connect to the at least oneplayback device of the network media system and determining that themobile device was operating in the first connected state with the atleast one playback device of the network media system when it previouslymoved outside of the communication range of the network media system,transitioning the mobile device from the second unconnected state to asecond connected state with at least one playback device of the networkmedia system by configuring the mobile device to control playback ofmedia items in the first playback queue by at least one playback deviceof the network media system rather than playing back media items in thesecond playback queue via the audio output interface of the mobiledevice.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein transitioning the mobiledevice from the second unconnected state to the second connected statewith at least one playback device of the network media system furthercomprises: if the mobile device is playing back a given media item inthe second playback queue, stopping the mobile device from playing backof the given media item in the second playback queue of the mobiledevice.
 10. The method of claim 8, wherein transitioning the mobiledevice from the second unconnected state to the second connected statewith at least one playback device of the network media system furthercomprises: suspending use of the second playback queue.
 11. The methodof claim 8, wherein transitioning the mobile device from the secondunconnected state to the second connected state with at least oneplayback device of the network media system further comprises: causing auser interface of the mobile device to change from displaying arepresentation of the second playback queue to displaying arepresentation of the first playback queue.
 12. The method of claim 8,further comprising: prior to transitioning the mobile device from thefirst unconnected state to the first connected state, (i) detecting thatthe mobile device is in the communication range of the network mediasystem and (ii) receiving a request to connect to the at least oneplayback device of the network media system.
 13. The method of claim 12,wherein detecting that the mobile device has moved into thecommunication range of the network media system prior to transitioningthe mobile device from the first unconnected state to the firstconnected state further comprises: detecting that the playback deviceand the mobile device are both connected to the same local area network.14. The method of claim 8, further comprising: after detecting that themobile device has moved outside of the communication range of thenetwork media system while operating in the first connected state,detecting that the mobile device is back in the communication range ofthe network media system.
 15. A non-transitory computer-readable mediumhaving program instructions stored on the non-transitorycomputer-readable medium that are executable by a processor of a mobiledevice to cause the mobile device to perform functions comprising: whilein a communication range of a network media system comprising one ormore playback devices, transitioning the mobile device from a firstunconnected state during which the mobile device is configured to playback media items in a first playback queue via an audio output interfaceof the mobile device to a first connected state with at least oneplayback device of the network media system by (i) causing the firstplayback queue to be associated with the at least one playback device ofthe network media system and (ii) configuring the mobile device tocontrol playback of media items in the first playback queue by the atleast one playback device of the network media system rather thanplaying back media items in the first playback queue via the audiooutput interface of the mobile device. detecting that the mobile devicehas moved outside of the communication range of the network media systemwhile operating in the first connected state; in response to detectingthat the mobile device has moved outside of the communication range ofthe network media system, transitioning the mobile device from the firstconnected state to a second unconnected state during which the mobiledevice is configured to play back media items in a second playback queueassociated with the mobile device via the audio output interface of themobile device while the first playback queue remains associated with theat least one playback device of the network media system; after themobile device is back in the communication range of the network mediasystem, (i) receiving a request to connect to the at least one playbackdevice of the network media system and (ii) determining that the mobiledevice was operating in the first connected state with the at least oneplayback device of the network media system when it previously movedoutside of the communication range of the network media system; andresponsive to both receiving the request to connect to the at least oneplayback device of the network media system and determining that themobile device was operating in the first connected state with the atleast one playback device of the network media system when it previouslymoved outside of the communication range of the network media system,transitioning the mobile device from the second unconnected state to asecond connected state with at least one playback device of the networkmedia system by configuring the mobile device to control playback ofmedia items in the first playback queue by at least one playback deviceof the network media system rather than playing back media items in thesecond playback queue via the audio output interface of the mobiledevice.
 16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15,wherein transitioning the mobile device from the second unconnectedstate to the second connected state with at least one playback device ofthe network media system further comprises: if the mobile device isplaying back a given media item in the second playback queue, stoppingthe mobile device from playing back of the given media item in thesecond playback queue of the mobile device.
 17. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein transitioning the mobiledevice from the second unconnected state to the second connected statewith at least one playback device of the network media system furthercomprises: suspending use of the second playback queue.
 18. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, whereintransitioning the mobile device from the second unconnected state to thesecond connected state with at least one playback device of the networkmedia system further comprises: causing a user interface of the mobiledevice to change from displaying a representation of the second playbackqueue to displaying a representation of the first playback queue. 19.The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein theprogram instructions stored on the non-transitory computer-readablemedium further comprise program instructions that are executable by theprocessor to cause the mobile device to perform functions comprising:prior to transitioning the mobile device from the first unconnectedstate to the first connected state, (i) detecting that the mobile deviceis in the communication range of the network media system and (ii)receiving a request to connect to the at least one playback device ofthe network media system.
 20. The non-transitory computer-readablemedium of claim 19, wherein detecting that the mobile device has movedinto the communication range of the network media system prior totransitioning the mobile device from the first unconnected state to thefirst connected state comprises: detecting that the playback device andthe mobile device are both connected to the same local area network.